Mighty Morphin Power Ranger
by DcNightJustice3
Summary: Rita is set free, now she want to destroy the world. Zordon need five brave teen's to stop Rita plan. Kim, Wade, Josh, Brick and Tara will fight evil to save the world. Now their the Power Rangers.
1. Chapter 1 A team is form

"A new threat has appeared. Five new power coins have been created. It is time to gather a new team of Rangers."

"I'm on it, Zordon!" Alpha 5 squeaked shuffling to the computer. Searching for five teens member.

Brick Flagg the Quarterback for Middleton Mad dog was working out when a black light of energy beam him up.

In the park Josh was painting a picture of a cat when he was taken by a Red light.

Elsewhere Tara Strong in walking home from school, not noticing a yellow energy gathering around her.

Wade was in his room working on a gadgets for Kim when a blue of energy hit him.

Kim was tweak at her best friend failed another mission for her to stop the bad guys. She didn't see a pink of energy light hit her.

"Tara?" Kim asked approach with Josh, Tara, Wade, and Brick, "what are you guy's doing here?"

"You guess is as good as our, Kim," Josh shrugged, as they walked into center of the computer complex.

"Kim, what's the matter?" Josh said carefully, noticed her green eyes seemed a bit red.

"Nothing, besides, we seem to have other things up right now," Kim said looking away.

"Welcomes my young friends," a booming voice grabbed all five teenagers attention.

They all turned to find the center tank and floating head staring at them. "Oh my God! It's a big head!" Brick gasped, only to get slap in the back of the head by Tara.

"I am Zordon, and this is my assistant Alpha 5." Zordon said as the small robot shoved Brick and Tara to a control panel.

"So what's up Zordon?" Kim said, she see weird all her life and this is weird.

"I have summoned you for a very important reason," Zordon stated seriously, "there is a job that must be accompanied. And this can only accomplish five brave teen's.

"You five must rise up to be the Power Ranger in meet my enemy Rita."

"Um, us?" Brick stuttered, "Dude, um Kim into the hero stuff we're not power ranger.

"Yet." Zordon added, "Alpha, release the power."

The five pillars began to glow and beam of energy flew toward the five teen, different colour hitting a difference teen. When the flash of light settled a mechanical since with a coin in the center appeared on their wrists.

Tara look down at her yellow design, "Tara, gracefully, bright, and full of hope, as the yellow ranger the power of the saber tooth tiger is your." Zordon said before turning to Josh.

"Josh,"Zordon started, as he looked at his red device, Wise and patients, brave, as the Red ranger the power of the Tyannousaurus Dinozord is yours."

He than glance at Brick who was fiddling with his black device, Brick, steady, strong and reliable. As the black ranger the power of the Mastodon Dinozord is yours."

Zordon focused on Wade and his blue decide, "Wade, smart and determined, as the blue ranger the power of the triceratops is yours."

He finally focused on Kim, and you Kim," Zordon smile at the young girl, strong and kind and can be a leader to your team member, and the pick ranger the power of the crane."

Zordon look at his new members. "So, are you in?"

Kim look around at the other in they nod. They will fight evil and save the world.

"Once you morph, Alpha will teleport you five to that location," Zordon stated, "I believe the power has given you the knowledge of how to activate and use it. Stop Rita general's and make sure she does not released her army. May the power protect you."

Author Notes please review, I made Kim the leader in this one and I'm not going to leave out Ron. I going to make him something special.


	2. Chapter 2 Rita free and Strike

Outside of Middleton by Bueno Nacho Ned and Ron Rieger saw a fallen object. It appeared to be a container of some sort, with a flashing jewel in the center of the lid. The origin was unknown, as it is not from earth. At first, the two teens rush toward the project and examined the object.

Ned looked at Rieger, "what is that?"

"It looks like some space dumpster," replied Rieger, "but I don't recognize any of the marking."

"Do you think we should open it?"

Rieger reached for the glowing jewel and suddenly it flashed. Consciously, both teens lifted the lid from the container. Almost instantly, several balls of energy flew out of the container and struck the ground a couple of meters away. When the smoke clear, several figures appeared and stretched their limbs. One was a gold-armoured warrior who bared similarly to the simian. Another was short, stumpy and had blue skin. The other was taller and was sort of space vampire. The last one was a white creature who appeared to be very old.

Ned and Rieger rushed away from the band, but tripped over a breach and fell to the ground.

"After ten thousand years," the old creature said, "it's good to be free again don't you think, Goldar?"

The simian replied with a growl, "Squatt! Awake out empress! We are finally free!"

"Rita! Oh Rita!" The short monster called, "wake up! We're free!"

Within the dumpster stood a middle-aged humanoid female. In her hand was a staff with a round circle-like figure. She stretched her arms and gave out a mightily moan.

"Ah," Rita shouted, "after ten thousand years, I'm free!"

The taller monster approached Rita and help her out. Rita heard a splat and looked down as her foot was in a puddle. She stared at the monster and pushed him aside.

"Baboo," she snarled, "you're a baboo! You made me step in a puddle!"

Rita walked toward the band of monsters and turned her attention towards the two teen. She aimed her staff at the dumpster and the beam stuck the object literally breaking it apart.

The two teens tried to get up and escape before the witch could spot them. But once they were on their feet, they ran into a car.

Rita pointed at the two teens, "please don't leave! You'll miss my coming out party."

Ned looked up at the witch, "what party?" Rieger shook his head in disbelief.

"It will be a great party," declared Rita, "where I destroy the planet!"

The two teens stared at the group of aliens for a while as they announced their intention. At first, they had thought they were begging delusional, that none of this was real. But deep down in their hearts, they knew better... this was real and this could be trouble on earth. The two teen ran.

Rita turned to her minions. "Now that they're gone, let's head to the palace."

The Stoppable house

Ron was in his room frowning on how he fail his best friend on a mission again. He need to train and be a better fighter so he won't fail his best friend.

Rita palace

The first thing she see was her old palace. After a long search. Satisfied that her lair is still in one piece, Rita directed the golden clad warrior to the front door. The warrior examined the door for a moment before kicking it down. Rita showed off a look of bewilderment at her minion.

"Next time, Goldar," she mused, "use the door handle."

The interior of the palace consisted of several and hallways that seemed to have drawn inspiration from the medieval castles of the dark ages, although the floor had a metallic feel to it. There were various makings among the walls, but it's hard to tell because they were worn down from time. One visible marking on one wall was a stylized Z. Upon seeing this, Rita aimed her wand and blasted the symbol.

Goldar stood and watched as the wall with the z remained in one piece without a scratch, "my queen, should we contract Lord Zedd?"

Rita looked at Goldar as if he was stupid. She gave him a stern look that told him to shut the hell up. Finally she replied, "Zedd probably knows we're free. In the meantime, you're taking orders from me. No sneaking off to relay messages to Zedd or I'll make you return to that prison. Understand?"

Goldar hesitated before replying, "perfectly, my queen."

Outside the command center, the teens emerge from the outer door and looked ahead at the mountainside. Nothing but sand and piles of rocks were present in the area.

"Great," Kim said, "how are we supposed to find Rita?"

Knowing full well that they were going to take a while getting there.

Rita Repulsa checked the happening on Earth with her telescope at the random destruction she had caused until her sight were at on five human teenagers walking across mountain.

"Zordon," she snicker quietly, "I'm surprised at you. Teenagers?"

Rita approached Finster workshop and saw the old creature put together various clay figures, shaped as regular humanoid forms onto a conveyor belt.

"Finster!" Screeched Rita, "do you have those putties ready?!"

"Oh yes, my queen." Finster answered calmly, "the putty patrol is on the ready."

"Excellent, send at two dozen to earth." Rita command. "I want to finish these humans quickly!"

The teens had covered about several miles away from the command center. They were still too far away from the city.

Kim finally broke the silence, "this seems almost endless."

Wade decided to sit down on a rock, "maybe we should rest for a while."

The others nodded and sat down. Josh looked up in the sky. Tara noticed and approached her friend.

Behind a small rock pile, three clay-molded creatures hide in waiting to strike the newly chosen power ranger. Back at the lunar palace, Rita Repulsa raised her wand and used her telescope as a crosshair. She fired a blast of magic energy at a position to throw the ranger off. The tactic worked and the rangers looked above the falling pile of rocks.

Josh jumped and pushed Tara out-of-the-way to avoid the bigger boulders while the other scuttled out of danger. Suddenly, the clay creatures appeared from above and began dividing the rangers.

Kim looked around and found herself surrounded by the clay creatures. She slapped off one of them while the other two dodged. The two grabbed both of her arms and swung her towards the rock formation.

Brick managed to land a few successful blows onto a putty, but it just shrugged it off. The putty managed to attempt a clothesline but missed. Brick countered with a hop kick to the face of the putty. The blow managed to startle the putty, but Brick failed to capitalize and so got a hard blow to the stomach. The blow practically caused Brick to fall on Wade and both fell near Kim.

Tara unleashed a series of punches and kicks on two putties, but they managed to either block the blow or seem unphased by the attacks.

Josh seemed to have the least trouble with the putties at first, but soon he was outnumbered, overmatched, and was thrown towards the others. The fallen rangers watched as their clay adversaries surrounding them.

"Looks like we got them." Brick said, sarcastically.

"Yeah," mumble Kim," this is just too weird."

The putties looked at them, keeping their distance... planning for the next attack... kim then notice her metal object given by Zordon.

Tara mumbled, "what are we gonna do now?"

Finally, Kim stood up and held a firm grip on the metal morphed. She turned around and said, "Zordon guy said that these give us power, right?"

Wade stood and look out his morphed, "I believe that is accurate."

"So," Kim said, "let's do it." Each teen stood up and raised their morphed to the sky calling on the name of their individual dinosaurs...

The putties watched, dazed and confused, as the five teen were enveloped in colourful light as they shouted their calls. When the light disappeared, the five teens were wearing colourful costume and helmets. Each one also held a different color blaster weapon in hands. After the transformation, they yelled in unison.

"POWER RANGERS!"

The putties looked at each other, grumbled, scratched their hands, doing anything possible to figure out what just happened. Before they managed to each, the costumed characters unleashed a flurry of flying kicks and laser blasts that took out the clay creatures as quickly as they appeared. The power ranger have won their first battle.

Back at the command center, Alpha jumped up as he saw the ranger do away with the Putty Patrol. "They did it, Zordon!" He cheered, "they complete the metamorphosis!"

"Excellent, Alpha," Zordon said, a slight time of approval in his voice, "teleport them to the district. Goldar and another squad of putties are attacking Middleton."

Back in the desert, the ranger felt a surge of energy similar to the one they felt before. "Where are we going?" The yellow ranger asked, to which pink ranger replied with absolute certainty, "we're going to save the world!"

The winged warrior Goldar and twenty putty patrollers greeted the power rangers as they appeared before them. Goldar observed the five begins before him and ginned,perhaps either in satisfaction or disappointment, one can't be too sure. Finally, he slowly walked toward the ranges, but glanced at the putties to stay as they were.

Pink ranger looked ahead at the large warrior clad in golden armor. "Stay here," she told the other rangers as she walked toward the warrior. For a moment, the two stood about three meter apart from each other and stared for full minute without either one uttering a word. Only the sound of screaming people in the background can be heard.

Goldar finally broke the silence, "you do realize that you have no match against us?"

Behind the mask, Kim was sweating. She responded, "what makes you think you're superior?" This amazed Goldar smile.

"You may have great power," the warrior said, "but you also inexperienced. I offer you a chance to surrender."

Kim looked straight into the eyes of his adversary. She didn't flinch. She didn't blink. She speaks, but the fact that she is wearing a visor that no one can see through masked her nervousness but she is Kim Possible and can do anything. That sense of discomfort lasted only seconds.

"You want to destroy our world," said pink ranger, "and we can't allow that. We'll fight you to the bitter end."

Goldar laugh and took a few steps back. Maybe she isn't as stupid as I expected, he thought to him self.

"So be it."

At the point, the putties behind Godlar rushed towards the rangers. The remaining rangers rushed toward the putties. Pink ranger and goldar sparred with each other. Although Goldor had superior strength and skill, pink ranger was clearly the faster of the two, using her speed to escape Goldar sword swipes and land a couple of stiff kicks of her own. Goldar was pushed back a little, but regained his composure and struck again.

Black Ranger already managed to take out one putty patrolled with a staff roundhouse. Two putties attacked him from behind, but the ranger noticed their movement and reacted with a spinning heel kick to knock down both oppressors.

Blue Ranger seemed to have a more difficult time with his putties. However, he managed to grab and throw a putty over the top.

Yellow Ranger seemed to be the most ease in dealing with the putties. Managing to jump and stomp on her aggressors confused those unphased by her quickness. The battle soon ended by her quickness. The battle soon ended when she leaped up and blasted the remaining four with her blaster.

After some time, all the putties have been defeated. The ranger collected themselves and observed the continuous series of attacks clashing between the winged Goldar and the pink ranger. Goldar attacks were quick, but pink ranger managed to block each blow. At the backhanded Goldar hand, disarming the monster. She soon followed it up with a hard kick to the head. The blow was forceful enough to knock down the titan.

One the moon, Rita was observing the battle on Earth though her special telescope. She screamed in anger as she saw the pink ranger knock down her best shoulder.

"I don't believe it!" She roared, "Finster your putties didn't get the job done!"

In the lab, Finster flinched nervously. He wanted to say something, but bit his tongue.

"My magic wand will make Goldar grow!" Rita thought as she aimed the point of her staff towards earth direction and slung it with little effort.

Back on earth, Goldar saw the flying wand approaching at high velocity. The Rangers observed confused as the warrior ran toward its imminent location.

"Why is he running?" asked the red ranger.

The pink ranger shook her head, unable to find an answer. Than all eyes looked up as the wand flew behind some buildings. In an instant, a loud rumbling sound was heard and several explosion were seen when the smoke cleared, there stood Goldar, now as tall as skyscrapers, ready and posed for combat. The strangers look in awe as the monster roared a mighty bellow and began to March within the city.

"That guy huge!" Yelled the black ranger

"What can we do?" The one in red asked anxious.

The pink ranger pondered for a moment before putting an answer together, "Zordon said we had zords that can fight monster that big."

Upon hearing their calls, five large mechanical beast molded dinosaurs were rushing toward Goldar. Each teens was soon board in the molded dinosaurs.

"Alright. I'm in," Josh said announced with authority.

"Highly sophisticated piece of hardware," Wade commented upon entering the cockpit.

"Nice stereo!" Kim gleefully said.

The five zords rushed towards Goldar who was headed for the mountain.

"What could that guy want out here?" Brick the black ranger said confused.

"He's going after Zordon!" Answer Tara the yellow ranger, "guys, we have to stop him!"

"You're right, Tara," declared Kim, "let's see what we can do!"

Goldar saw the approaching mechanical dinosaurs rush toward them and he firing several energy beams from his eye. The red zord took the brunt of his collisions but continued onward without pause. Red ranger guided his zord toward Goldar and guided the machine as it landed a couple of quick hits. However, Goldar quickly recover with a quick strike across the tyrannosaurs head, knocking the zord down.

All the zords got together, the sword detached itself from the tank zord, while the rest of it began to shift upwards form s gigantic robot. The zord flew in for a final swoop and docked with the tyrannosaurus chest just as the head dropped down to reveal another robot head. The magazord was formed... and tasted a sword swipe from Goldar that pushed back the zord a step. It wasn't long before megazord managed a quick right jab that stunned Goldar for a short while.

"Kim," the blue ranger observed as Goldar approached the zord, "that last shot didn't even phase him!"

"Hang on!" Kim yelled.

The two opponents grapple with each other. Goldar breath heavy pushing against the megazord, which was also burning up due to overwhelming stress. It took a kick a to Goldar right knees to let go.

The megazord stood tall and now held a steel sword in its right hand.

In the cockpit, Kim smile behind her mask, "Wade, I don't know how you got that sword, but it looks like our friend here is backing off."

"Believe me," Wade the blue ranger said, "I am having difficulty understand the method myself."

"You have won this round," the warrior growl, "but I will return to exact vengeance on this disgrace!" Suddenly he disappeared without a trace. The Rangers have won their first confrontation.

Rita was furious, Goldar steeped into the chamber and kneel on one leg, his head looking at the marble floor. He could not bear the sight of his empress face.

"You've failed me, Goldar!" She screeched.

"I am sorry, my empress," the warrior wobble uncharacteristically.

"Shut up," she screeched louder, "l have a headache! Get out!"

Goldar left the empress to her temper tantrum. The conquest of the earth would take than she expected.

"Congratulations, Rangers, on your first victory together," Zordon told his chosen heroes as they stood happily and proudly on the command center, "you have managed to deal a blow to Rita plans.

Zordon look up at the five teen with look of concern, "we were lucky this time, Zordon."

"Luck had nothing to do with it, Brick," he response with wisdom, "you five have been chosen because of your unique traits and skills. There was no doubt in my mind that you would come together to make as fine superhero team as there has even been."

All the teens smile and nodded, except Tara, who was confused, "really?"

Zordon signed, "there are three rules you must follow, or you lose the protection of the power. Fist, never use your power for personal gain of glory. Second, never escalate a battle unless you have no other alternative. And lastly, keep your identity secret. No on may know of your alter-egos.

"You have been through an extraordinary experience together," he continued, "you may choose to continue down this path or you may return to your regular lives; I will respect your decision. But keep in mind that if you make the decision to stay, there is no turning back. It will be a long, difficult road with risks to be taken and sacrifices to be made."

"Alright," Josh said with confidence, "I'm in."

"I'll second that," Brick said joyfully.

"I accept your invitation and challenge," Wade said with a slight tone of excitement.

"You can count on me," Tara responded softy.

All eyes were on Kim, "well, Kim?"

"I don't know, you guys," she responded though to her self she got to keep a secret from best friend to be a power ranger. Her and Ron is a team together why he wasn't part of this team. Than Kim thought he wasn't selected because he didn't step up. Kim got a world to save with a new team and she can't tell Ron.

The other groans and Alpha squeaked. Kim smile, "I got you guy's there, didn't I?"

The teen laughed while Zordon let out a loud sigh. Humour, he though to himself.

In it begins as five teens became Power Rangers to stop evil.

Author Notes please review tell me what you think. Thank you for reading. Please more reviews.


	3. Chapter 3 Ron training, Rita new plan

Ron walked to the middle of the ring to face his gym teacher. He'd not reported any of his own titles, wishing instead to have a fight without any expectations.

Following the referee in the familiar tournament match conventions, Ron performed the bows and then sharply focused on his opponent as the match started.

The kick came flying out of nowhere, and Ron barely had time to dodge and counter. As soon as he hit the mat and the ref announced a point to his gym teacher Ron re-evaluated his opinion of the other martial artist.

Ron still pulled his punches and kicks, as always for a tournament, but his gym teacher moved like a whirlwind. It was all he could do to keep up with the incredible speed on the other teen. The fight quickly ended in a draw.

Ron's mind whirled as he got his stuff together after general congratulations. If this was the competition at Middleton gym, he was in for a very interesting stay. As he hurried, thinking about telling Kim about his training to be a better fighter.

* * *

"He's amazing," the Empress whispered, far below her usual shrill cries that tended to fill the entire Palace.

Her minions seemed to be rather bored. The lack of the usual bangs and whistles from the lab told her that Finster was more likely reading than experimenting with Putties and monsters. Goldar was sharpening his sword nearby; Rita could hear the ringing, grinding noise echo down the hall. Squatt and Babboo seemed to be playing Go Fish... with very little understanding of the rules.

"I'll see your Guppy, and raise you a Trout," Babboo exclaimed. He placed the appropriate fish on top of a pile of cards in the middle of the table.

"Go fish," Squatt said quickly. They both squealed with glee, grabbed two fishing poles in the corner of the room, and teleported out. Rita knew they were probably going to a deserted lake on Earth to... she sighed... "go fish." She didn't mind. It kept them occupied and she'd only punish them if they stank up the place.

Rita was more interested in thinking about this "Ron," the boy who had tied with the gym teacher at that ridiculous human competition. Rita, while not an expert on the actual mechanics of fighting (she had people to do that for her), could tell that the boy had been holding back. She was itching to try him in an actual life or death situation.

"He just might do," Rita said.

"My Empress, what 'might do,'" Goldar asked, coming up behind her. He had finished at the whetstone, and his sword was gleaming gold.

Far from being annoyed at the intrusion into her thoughts, Rita wanted Goldar's opinion as an experienced warrior. "Goldar, wait, I'll run it back... look in the telescope."

She defocused the magical instrument—far more powerful on account of magic than any human telescope—and "rewound" to the beginning of the competition. She offered the instrument to Goldar, who awkwardly looked through, the telescope too low for the giant alien's height.

Goldar was expressionless as he watched. Of course, he was always expressionless, so that did not bother Rita.

Goldar finally pulled back from the telescope. "That boy might have defeated the power Ranger in a real fight." Again, inflection was difficult to discern with Goldar, but he seemed mildly impressed.

"My thoughts exactly," Rita said. "I was thinking of recruiting this... Ron."

Goldar looked affronted, one of his few discernible expressions. "But, my Empress... he is merely a human. He's not powerful enough to fuel a monster, and he would not have a prayer against a morphed Power Ranger."

Rita smiled. She knew that Goldar was insecure about his position as her chief General, especially as he hadn't exactly shone in battle of late. No one had against these accursed Rangers. Rita's blood pounded at the thought, but she controlled her rage.

"You're forgetting," Rita chided, "that I have more at my disposal than mere monsters and Putties. Not every foe must come from Finster's machine. Some weapons I have kept with me for a long time."

Goldar stepped back a bit. "You can't mean..."

"What better way to defeat a bunch of teenage Rangers than with one of their own?"

The silence weighed heavy in the balcony. The tension did not break even when Squatt and Babboo returned, giggling madly, with a bucket full of assorted fish. Rita absently thought of putting them to cooking supper if they were going to continue in this pastime.

"But isn't the Green Power Coin linked to that ridiculous 'Morphing Grid' of theirs?" Goldar said. While Goldar rarely planned on his own, knowing that Rita took greater pleasure in strategy than in the actual fighting, he always tried to look at every side of the plan, seeing where failures might occur right from the beginning. Rita appreciated this, even if she didn't show it. After all, it would be pretty embarrassing if she gave Ron the Power Coin and Zordon could simply turn off the Green Power through the Morphing Grid.

"The Green Ranger would have access to the Morphing Grid without being controlled by it," Rita rattled off. "He would have access to the inherent knowledge of the Power Rangers, as well as access to the Command Center and the Zords. He wouldn't even set off the security alarms until Zordon became aware of him."

In truth, Rita had been on the lookout for a Green Ranger ever since those Rangers had stopped her initial conquest of the Earth. She'd already had Finster study the Power Coin and had discussed with him at length the dangers and advantages. She hadn't mentioned her plans to Goldar, as he might keep bugging her to pick someone—anyone—to accept the Green Ranger powers. It was, after all, one of her most powerful weapons. That made it all the more necessary to withhold the weapon until the appropriate time.

"But wouldn't Zordon know immediately who the Ranger is?" Goldar said after a lengthy pause.

Actually, he had something there.

"We'll have to put Zordon out of commission," Rita said. "Make him disappear for a while. Even if Zordon senses who the Green Ranger is, he could scramble Zordon's signal so badly it would take years for that ridiculous robot to find that old fool."

"Which would, of course, demoralize the Rangers. Leave them without guidance," Goldar supplied. He was obviously warming to the idea. "The Green Ranger could also destroy all the Command Center equipment, leaving them without communication or teleportation."

"And then we attack," Rita said. Her blood was pumping in her veins, more powerfully than usual when she was planning attacks. This... it was going to be complicated. A long-term plan. But her plans had been too simple before, and they never worked.

"That's all very well and good," Goldar said, "but how do we know this Ron is right for the job, my Empress? We've only seen that one fight, and I don't think we have even the smallest idea of his power. He may be merely an exhibition fighter with no potential for practical application."

"A Putty attack will do nicely," Rita said as she began to refocus her telescope. "They can fight him, test him, and finally capture him. A life and death fight always gives a glimpse into true potential. We'll both watch and judge. If he's unworthy, the Putties can kill him or let him go free, and we'll have lost nothing."

Yes, the plan would require finesse, the kind of secretive finesse witches and humans were so good at. Goldar and any monsters would be at the forefront, directly threatening and distracting the Power Rangers. In the meantime, the real destruction would be happening from within.

Rita smiled and, effectively ending the "card" game by vanishing all the fish with a wave of her wand, began issuing orders. If all went well, she could send the Putties the very next day.

Rita smile at her new plan, the rise of the green ranger.

Author Notes please review, thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4 Captured, Mind control

Ron's fists tightened as he walked through the Middleon park. He just left kim house and told her he been training to be a better fighter but she was not listening, still tweet on him for not stepping up. Kim told him to take some time off on mission for a while. He left her house angry and went for a walk to cool down.

Ron grabbed up a rock and threw it at a tree. It hit someone else instead.

Ron took a split second to gape at the… men?... surrounding him. They darted around, waving their arms in large circles and emitting a high warbling sound.

Putties…

The word raced across his mind as one of them lunged for him. He dodged and ducked a return arm swipe. Another rushed at him, so he ducked out of the way and kicked that one toward the first attacker. They both fell to the ground. Ron didn't have much time to congratulate himself. There were more… lots more… closing in.

kim told him there will be a new villains of putties, Rita attacking Middleton. A news hero's will stop the putties and Rita, a new the Power Ranger. Watch out. Be careful. Don't get involved. Don't get into fights. But what could one do when they all attacked at once?

A quick count showed eight more of the gray aliens floundering about. More could teleport in, from what he heard, at any moment. The only possible recourse, Ron reasoned as he ducked and counterattacked the next attacker, would be to end the fight quickly and run. Maybe then the aliens wouldn't consider him worth expending so much energy. Maybe this was some weird alien super-villain initiation of a new resident. He'd had to go through a bit of hazing in his time, and he knew he just had to sour the treat to make them lose interest.

All this went through his mind as he methodically took down each attacker that went for him. A few weren't put down permanently, but he had always had a sixth sense about attacks from behind. And then he realized something wonderful. He didn't have to hold back!

The next Putty, a bit of a better fighter than his fellows, implemented a complicated series of punches and kicks that were obviously meant to wear Ron down. The Putty probably thought he had the stamina of most humans. Ron just grinned and punched the Putty in the face as hard as he could. The punch launched the Putty backwards several feet straight into a tree. If the fighter had been human, his neck would have probably snapped.

The Putties began to fight more cautiously after seeing him take down their best in one blow. Ron smiled grimly and aimed hard for pressure points, hoping the fact that Putties had human shape meant they had the same pain centers.

They didn't, really, but the force of the punches wore them down. Ron alternated hard, roundhouse kicks. This style of fighting would get him banned from most tournaments, he mused as he kicked a Putty hard in what should have been the solar plexus. However, tournament fighting this wasn't. He was fighting for his life, and he was trying to remind himself of the danger even as he exulted in the sheer release of fighting for real.

And then it was over. Ron was still in his stance, ready for anything, but the Putties littering the ground seemed hardly able to move, much less prove themselves dangers.

Ron exulted in the victory and stood there among his fallen foes, breathing hard. His brain was screaming at him to move, to run, that there may be more any second, but his not-so-smart pride sort of wanted someone—anyone—to see what he had done. Maybe Kim…

As he started to bend to retrieve his backpack, he realized he couldn't move. A weird pressure in the air surrounded him, and Ron found that he was now gasping for air, and not from his exertions. The air seemed to pulse… green?...

Then a sharp tingling overcame his body that quickly turned to pain. Ron screamed once… and was gone.

In the deafening silence after the scene of furious battle, a lone Putty left its hiding place behind a nearby tree. It quickly picked up a series of small poles stuck in the ground that Ron hadn't noticed. Job complete, it and the other injured Putties teleported away. No one would be able to tell this was the scene of a life-or-death battle.

* * *

"That's odd," Alpha said to himself.

Zordon was busy reading information , the words scrolling across his "tube" and showing backwards to anyone looking at him, so he didn't at first register Alpha's voice.

"What is odd, Alpha?" The deep voice's cadence was decidedly archaic, which was the translator's attempt at representing Zordon's extreme age.

Alpha frustratedly punched a few more buttons, running through the readings from the Earth surveillance system. A tornado in Alabama, an earthquake several miles away from Middleton, a civil uprising in Africa… But nothing under Power Ranger jurisdiction.

"I'm not sure, Zordon" Alpha finally said before Zordon had to ask him again. "There was a blip in the system, but it vanished. It registered as a disturbance in Middleton, but…" Alpha finally threw up his hands, which was his version of shrugging, Zordon knew.

"Do you think Rita Repulsa may be up to something? Do you think it is serious enough to have a Ranger investigate?"

Alpha looked up at Zordon. It was a thoroughly unnecessary action, since Alpha's sensors meant he could essentially "see" everywhere, but he tried to approximate humanoid interaction, and eye contact was important to humans, as he had learned from the Rangers.

"It could have been a car crash," Alpha said with uncertainty. "Sometimes those are bad enough to affect the sensors, and there is a three-car pile-up on Main. It is ultimately your decision, Zordon, but I'm not even sure where to begin to investigate."

Zordon considered this. True, their sensors had been fooled by ordinary occurrences before. But Rita might be working hard to hide something she was doing on Earth.

"Are all the Rangers accounted for?"

Alpha punched a button on the communications console that made each of the Rangers' communicators vibrate slightly. This meant that they were to press their communicators in answer, but no vocal communication was required. This let the Rangers concentrate on what they were doing for this non-urgent "head count."

"All Rangers reported in, Zordon" Alpha said as the fifth light went off on the console.

"Keep close monitor of Earth, Alpha," Zordon said. "We don't want anything catching us by surprise, but we cannot become paranoid. We'll mention it at the next meeting, as well."

Alpha nodded and adjusted the sensors. He knew he was keyed up—they all were, a little—because it was Friday and Rita hadn't tried an attack all week. That was unusual. Alpha perversely hoped Rita would attack soon to break the tension.

_Oh, well_, Alpha thought. More time to get caught up on projects. As Zordon got back to his reading, Alpha grabbed his toolbox to tinker with the emergency quarantine chamber he and Wade had been building. Rita would attack, and they would deal with it like always.

* * *

Kim slumped in her seat, angry with herself in her room, about her and ron had another fight. Ron told her he been training to be a better, he wanted to help her out more but kim told him, he have to take some time off on mission for a while. Ron left her house angry. Kim felt bad. She can't tell him she a Power Ranger.

Ron woke up slowly, thinking only of how thirsty he was, and found he couldn't move.

It wasn't that, though, as Ron's full awareness slowly returned in fits and starts. He was aware of sitting in a chair that was so high-backed his head was resting against it. Restraints that felt like some sort of leather, only not quite leather, held him at his wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, and forehead. He effectively couldn't move an inch.

The fact that he wasn't having an epileptic fit did nothing, of course, to dispel the blind panic with which he awoke.

"He's awake, my Empress," a rough voice growled over the right side of the chair, so close it made him jump.

"Good," came an answer. Still a rough voice, but this time female and with more of a sense of authority. This would be the "empress," then.

A whirring sounded in his ears, and Ron found he could finally open his eyes. A white alien face was almost nose-to-nose with him. He flinched back as much as he could, gasping in enough air that his head spun. He couldn't make a sound, though. He'd been gagged.

"He seems to be in perfect shape," an unexpectedly kindly voice came from the white alien, who pulled away from Ron. "He suffered nothing but a minor scrape from the Putty attack. His pulse is high, but that's from fear, of course."

Ron tried to put together the alien's words. Putty attack… he remembered that. Ten had attacked him as he left Kim house, and he'd won. At least, until that… whatever… had trapped him and made him pass out.

"Why did he lose consciousness, then?" the rough female voice asked. "Simple teleportation shouldn't have affected someone of his strength like that."

"I believe it was the combination of the lack of experience with teleportation and the magic that kept the attack a secret from all surveillance. I don't believe he'll have any more trouble with teleportation," the polite voice answered.

He sounded like a doctor. But this was unlike any hospital Ron had ever been in. The walls were dark. Smoke billowed across the floor. He couldn't really make any details out in the room, other than a sense of candles and small objects on shelves.

His heart was pounding. He forced himself to breathe through his nose slowly and deliberately. If he was going to find a way out of this situation, he would have to calm down. As he forced his pulse to slow, his brain started putting things together a little better. He'd heard about an Empress… Rita or something like that… who was the nemesis of the Power Rangers. She must have engineered that attack, though why she couldn't have merely teleported him straight there he couldn't say. Unless the Putties were a distraction for something else… Ron stopped himself. He didn't have enough information on that track, so it wouldn't help him. Didn't matter how he got here. He was here. Now he had to get out in one piece.

At the same time, he was starting to realize he was probably not going to die. The aliens seemed worried about his health. Would they be like that for someone who was about to die?

But why did they want him alive? That worried Ron. Experiments? Slow torture? Weird alien perversions that he didn't even want to imagine? He was starting to sweat, even with the biting cold of the dark room.

A woman in a large pink dress finally walked into his field of vision. She was talking animatedly, but he just couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. It was as if his hearing kept fading in and out. Her age was indeterminate. At times she looked like an old hag, and at other times she looked quite youthful. Only her face and hands showed through the voluminous clothing, and he couldn't tell what was hair and what was headdress on her head.

The woman finally turned to him. She smiled, and it felt like an ice cube dropped in the pit of his stomach.

"Ah…" the woman said in what she obviously thought was a warm, solicitous voice. "Ron Stoppable. It's so good to finally meet you in person." She ended with a self-satisfied smile, as if she had given Ron a remarkable honor by addressing him.

Ron stared at her for a minute as what she said registered in his brain. From her manner, though he was gagged and restrained, he suddenly felt he ought to bow… or curtsy… or something.

"What's he doing?" the woman asked.

Ron realized she was referring to him, and he realized horribly that he was laughing. Laughing hard and deep in his throat. He couldn't help it. Call it a hysterical response to the tension and fear, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

The gag was suddenly cut away from behind. Ron kept laughing, now giving full throat to the sound that was until that second muffled.

"Are you laughing at me?" Rita sounded harsh and hysterical. Ron wondered if anyone ever laughed around her.

Feeling as if he were pushing the envelope, and hoping to come out of this alive and unscathed, Ron mastered himself. "Forgive me, Empress Rita," Ron said. He felt like politeness was part of the key to survival… or at least not being killed outright. "I would never laugh at you. You're too terrifying. I'm not sure why I'm laughing."

"He's brave. You've got to get him that," the rough male voice said behind him. Ron still didn't have a face to put with that voice. "He's definitely showing more grit than I would give credit to a human."

The white alien chimed in. "The bravery may be useful, but it may also hinder. His character may prove too strong for the process."

Rita smirked at Ron, who instantly felt no desire to laugh. "I think not. A strong character can still be turned, and he will see enough benefit in turning. Think about it: what would happen if one of those Rangers were in his situation?"

"They would be thrashing in their bonds and vowing revenge," the rough male voice supplied. "'You won't get away with this' would be a popular phrase."

"Exactly," Rita said. "Our Mr. Stoppable, on the other hand, has tested his bonds for strength only once. He's laughed. He's addressed me with respect."

"He's smart."

"Yes, that," Rita said. "But he also knows how to compromise."

Ron stayed silent, his panic starting to build again as he tried to keep signs of it off his face. He was in a cold sweat and had the inconvenient urge to pee.

"Well, since he has a clean bill of health," Rita continued, turning her back neatly on him, "I think we can proceed with the mind control process. We can begin with Finster's machine to soften him up, and then I can focus some magic on him."

Mind control…

Ron nearly toppled the chair over as he threw all his weight against his bonds. It took him a minute to realize that the yelling was coming from him. Armored hands from behind held him firmly down, cutting slightly into the flesh of his shoulders as he thrashed. Another gag was pulled into place and tied tightly. Ron was barely aware of what he was doing… he was going on pure instinct. He only knew that he had to get away… to run… to escape the threat to his very _identity_.

Ron gave a strangled scream as he felt a metal cap forced down on his head. And then, suddenly, everything was quiet. He felt his breathing slow. White noise filled his ears. Everything went black.

Author notes please review. Thank you for all your reviews.


	5. Chapter 5 Rise of the Green Ranger

"Ron is already awake and ready," Finster said as Rita heartily applied herself to her breakfast. "He is exercising right now. He's not one to remain inactive for very long."

"Good…" Rita said, swallowing a large mouthful of donut and washing it down with a gulp of coffee. It burned her throat pleasantly. "He needs to keep in training. I want a warrior, not a failer. How are his behavior patterns?"

"Exemplary," Finster said. "He's right on schedule. I believe, if you agree after assessment, that we can proceed with waking him up a bit more. He should, if we're careful, be fully aware by tonight."

"Excellent! He can be back in school by tomorrow and no one will be the wiser," Rita said. She congratulated herself on her new plan.

She dismissed Finster so she could finish her work destroying the world. Her head was feeling better already as the caffeine sped the medicine along. She'd been impatient all weekend, wanting to have a fully loyal Ranger at her service. But it just wasn't time yet. She might be able to give him Ranger powers that night… and she might not. In fact, it would be smarter to wait… to give him some simple assignments so he could prove himself before gifting him with real power. After all, once the power was grafted onto his spirit, it was no easy task to separate the two.

Rita leaned back in her chair, holding the hot coffee between two cold hands. Things were going far better than she thought. It was all up to Ron now… and how he would respond to service.

* * *

Wade was usually the first to teleport in to the Command Center, wanting to get a little tinkering done before the others got there and the meeting began. This Sunday, though, Kim was there first.

"She's planning something… I just know it," Wade heard Kim's low voice say.

"I do not deny that the situation is not worrisome, Kim. But there is little we can do right now," Zordon's reassuring voice answered.

"Hey," Wade said, approaching the middle of the cramped room. "What's going on?"

"Rita hasn't attacked, and Kim jumpy," a calm voice came from the floor. Wade hadn't seen Tara there until she spoke.

"Yes… It is a bit unusual," Wade said.

"Downright unheard-of, you mean," Kim answered. "I feel like… I dunno… like she's leading us into a false sense of security."

"Or that she might be traveling? None of us have had a vacation in weeks since we form, and even evil overlords need to get away from it all… I'm guessing," Tara suggested.

"Or taking a sick day?" Wade said. "I mean, don't dark empresses of evil get the flu upon occasion?"

"Rita is still in her palace… the sensors show us," Alpha answered. "The power levels have not dropped. She may be sick, though…"

"I think this is something to discuss when the actual meeting starts," Tara interrupted.

"Discuss what?"

Josh and Brick had just teleported in.

Wade sighed inwardly. Tinkering was unlikely, he mused as he accepted a drink.

"What else?" Kim answered Josh question. "No monsters this week. Not a one. And I was sure on Friday, or even Saturday…"

Brick rolled his eyes. "Kim, listen to yourself. You're complaining that we haven't had to fight for our lives this week? I, for one, have enjoyed every minute of the peace and quiet. I thought we all had."

"I _have_ been able to get a lot more work done this week," Wade chimed in.

"But she's up to something," Kim said furiously. "Something big, if it requires this much planning."

"Or the flu," Tara countered.

"I'm not buying it," Kim said, sharper than she meant to, as Wade saw by his apologetic look. "I mean, if she wants to put us off our guard, she's doing a great job at it. Look at us! Do you call this vigilance?"

"Kim, chill," Brick said hesitantly.

"Brick's right," Josh said. "I mean, even if she _is_ planning something big, how can we be ready for something we don't know about?"

"It's not like we have to wait for her to make the first move," Kim said quietly.

The silence was tense. This was the beginning of an old argument.

"Kim, we cannot consider that as an option," Zordon said, finally joining in the conversation.

Kim turned to face Zordon. "But… why not? We know the general location of Rita's palace. We can move safely around the moon with our Ranger suits. All it would take was a little…"

"That's great," Brick interrupted with a laugh. "Anyone feel like volunteering for _that_ suicide mission?"

Kim shook her head. "I'm not asking you to go. I'll go. I can get in and out easier anyway."

"We don't want _you_ volunteering for a suicide mission either, dummy," Tara said.

"But…"

"kim," Zordon said, "it is out of the question."

"We know nothing about the security there," Wade added. "It could be monsters, or magic, or advanced extraterrestrial technology, or bear traps…"

"Bear traps!..." Tara giggled.

"We have no information, of course," Zordon said. "But what is more… what is the second rule of being a Power Ranger?"

Kim looked defeated. "Never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you."

"Which would necessarily include beginning a battle, which would happen if you trespassed in her palace and were caught," Zordon said, a touch of finality to his voice.

Kim said nothing. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as it always did during this argument. Kim is worried about Ron, he have not show up a home, and Rita has not attack, she try calling her best friend but he didn't answer.

"Which, of course," Zordon continued, "does not mean that we should drop our guard at all. We must remain vigilant."

"We should each call in to the Command Center once a day," kim said, obviously wishing to forget the previous argument. "We should also check the hot spots, at least for the time being. Sometimes the human eye can catch what the best of video surveillance can't."

"Agreed," Zordon said.

"Sounds great," Brick said. "I'll take the Park."

"I'll check in on the beach," Josh said. "I need to get away from painting the kitchen anyway."

"I'll take the mall," Tara chimed in.

Everyone looked at her. Kim looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"What?" Tara said. "I mean… come on. There have been two mall attacks this month already. If that isn't the definition of a hot spot, I don't know what is."

Brick laughed. "No… nothing wrong with that. I'll take street, then. Wade?"

Wade shrugged. "I think I can be of more help here. I can help Alpha with the sensors. There are, after all, things that surveillance can catch that the human eye will miss."

Wade hoped that didn't sound defensive. He'd tried not to be offended at kim slight of the Command Center's sensors. He'd worked hard on those, after all.

Kim nodded, having fully recovered her worrying. "Sounds like a plan. We'll do a sweep once a day until the next attack. Hopefully…"

"Hopefully this is all useless," Brick said. "Hopefully Rita hasn't grown a working brain in the past week."

"That's not funny," Tara protested.

"Indeed it is not," Zordon said, focusing on Brick. "It is unwise to consider Rita anything but a dangerous foe. While you all have beaten her each time she's attacked, it only takes one failure to lose everything. Never assume that your enemy is stupid or incompetent. Rita is as old as I am, and has seen centuries of intergalactic battle. Her fault right now is she constantly underestimates you. She will not always. So do not underestimate her."

"All right, I'm sorry," Brick said. "I was only kidding." He mumbled the last words, which Zordon heard but let slide. He was scolding his Rangers far too much for his liking today.

"So," Josh broke in. "We system check our Zords, like usual, and then break in an hour?"

The others nodded, falling into comfortable routine. Wade was disturbed, however. If it was Rita's intent to sow discord among the group, she was doing a pretty good job.

* * *

Ron's awareness slowly formed around him, as if a fog were lifting. He blinked his eyes rapidly and reached up to rub them. He was momentarily surprised that he could move at all.

Finally, Ron saw Empress Rita glide in from a corner, where she had been reading a large book. She sat herself on her throne and regarded Ron imperiously.

Ron moved forward, trying his hardest not to look foolish, and bowed low. When he straightened, he said in words that seemed drilled into him, "Your servant, Ron Stoppable, reporting as ordered, my Empress."

"You are my servant, then, Ron?" Rita finally asked. "Completely loyal to me?"

"Yes, I am, Empress," Ron said strongly. If he was certain of anything, it was of that solitary truth.

"Ron, listen carefully to me," Empress Rita said in a serious, earnest voice.

All thoughts of everything else but fully absorbing Empress Rita's words left Ron immediately.

"You are my most important plan—my ultimate weapon. You will be given power. The power to crush our enemies. By your hand they will suffer, and together we _all_ will kill them." Empress Rita's gaze left Ron to include Goldar, Finster, and the other minions Ron hadn't really met yet.

Ron felt pride swell inside of him, and a responsibility that did not crush. _My ultimate weapon…_

"Yes, my Empress," Ron said. "I will obey you in all things."

"I know you will," Empress Rita answered, and they made eye contact for one last time.

"Very well, Ron," Empress Rita said. With deliberate movements, she pulled a long black box, resembling a jewelry case, out of an unseen pocket in her voluminous dress. "On your feet, then. You must meet your destiny on your feet."

Ron rose to his feet unsteadily, aware of the spectacle he was making of himself but not caring in the slightest. He watched in growing excitement as Empress Rita's hands slowly opened the box to expose… a coin.

"Millennia ago," Empress Rita said in a solemn voice, "I battled with Zordon, my greatest enemy, over control over the universe. In the end, while Zordon will claim his own victory, there was no decisive victory. We trapped each other into dimensional portals: I was cast into a clay jar, cut away and forced to wander about the galaxy. I was only recently freed. Zordon, on the other hand, is still doomed to only manifest himself in a tube-like space built into the Rangers' Command Center. I call that a point to me," Rita said not a little smugly. "Before the mutual casting, however, the war ended with our deciding who gets the mystical Power Coins: the chief artifacts at the center of our war. We flipped each coin. He won five. And I won… this." She gestured to the coin.

Ron could almost sense the power coming from that coin. He was entranced. The coin seemed to glimmer greenly in the black velvet surrounding it. It was inscribed with a triple-pointed design, and the inside top of the box was stamped with a picture of a dragon-like head.

"This is the key to the ultimate downfall of the Power Rangers," Empress Rita continued. "This coin shares the same power source as the other coins that the current Power Rangers use. However, through contact with me and my magicks it has become different and certainly more powerful in several ways. And it is yours, Ron… my Green Ranger."

The rage was roaring in Ron body as he lifted the coin from the box at Empress Rita's offering. Green sparks flew from the coin as it made contact with his skin. The world seemed engulfed in green light, and…

… he was… changed…

Ron returned to reality, his heavy breathing loud in his own ears. While he could see quite normally, his face felt encased in something. He realized he was wearing a helmet that covered his entire head.

That was new.

He looked down. He was no longer wearing the clothes he'd worn earlier. The clothes were replaced by an unfamiliar uniform or costume. His eyes were assaulted with green and gold. Frustrated by no good vantage point, he spotted the screen they had used earlier, which had turned into a literal mirror when not used. Facing him in the mirror, he look like a green ranger. The suit resembled the Power Rangers, with the diamond pattern and the green-on-white scheme matching the other Rangers in their respective colors. His helmet was uniquely stylized, like the other Rangers. However, unlike the Rangers, his chest and shoulders were covered in a gold mantle, like a shield. Ron supposed this was one of the differences Empress Rita mentioned.

"Well, Green Ranger," Empress Rita said smugly as she watched him admiring himself. "What do you think? Do you feel like you can fight the Rangers now?"

Ron nodded slowly, grinning evil.

"I will destroyed the Power Rangers." Ron laugh evil.

Author notes please review, thanks for all the review. Thank you for reading.


	6. Chapter 6 The command center destroy

"Hey, Ron. Ron?" She touched his back. Ron briefly looked at her and turned his attention back to his locker and looking over some notes. "What happened to you? I call you all night."

"Something came up."

"Oh." Kim adjusted her bookbag on her shoulder. "It's just I waited and I got kind of worried..."

"Hey, I'm a big boy, Kim. I don't need you to worry about me."

"Is something wrong? Because you're totally acting like..."

"Like what?"

"Like you're mad at me. Did I do something..."

"Look, has it ever occurred to you that I might have other things on my mind? Newsflash Kim, you are not the center of everyone's universe."

"Well, excuse me for caring about you." Kim stepped back and walked away. She turned aroundonce to give Ron a nasty look, before she stormed away. Ron smiled. His eyes flashed green, before Ron turn to leave.

Kimberly stood alone in the halls, frustrated with tears in her eyes.

"My Empress," he bowed, saying the words softly and looking at her carefully.

"Oh, don't fret over me," Empress Rita said, in a voice rougher than usual. "I had a nap earlier, and Finster has already worried over me to distraction."

Ron smiled. Apparently Finster did that to everyone.

"Do you have everything you need?" Empress Rita asked.

"Yes, my Empress," Ron said. "Finster gave me the computer components I need to destroy the Command Center. I was also able to merge my weapon with my morphed state, so I'll be able to call on it when necessary."

"Very good," Empress Rita said. "This is your first real mission for me. You are about to enter the very heart of enemy territory. Are you nervous, Ron?"

"Would you think any less of me if I said yes, my Empress?" Ron asked, immensely grateful that Goldar wasn't there right now. He was alone with Empress Rita… a rather heady experience.

Empress Rita smiled at him kindly. "Ron, you are a good servant and an excellent warrior. I have the utmost of faith in you."

Ron felt his eyes burn and blinked rapidly. He wished he'd morphed already.

"Now," Empress Rita said, "the mission shouldn't take long. Let the equipment do its work and you should be fine. I expect you back within thirty minutes, though I don't think it will even take that long."

"It shouldn't, my Empress."

"I will also caution you about Zordon," Empress Rita said, a bit sternly. "He will try to talk you out of what you're doing. All he can do is talk now, the old fool," Rita snorted in laughter. "Nonetheless, you should not listen to him. His enemies know that he has the gift of talk. What he says will sound like wisdom."

"My Empress," Ron said. "Anything he says will only be desperate attempts to protect himself no matter how he phrases it."

"Good," Empress Rita said. "Keep that firmly in mind. He will want to turn you—to collect you for his own."

Ron grew deadly serious. "I am yours, my Empress. Yours alone."

Empress Rita held his gaze for hours, it seemed. Finally…

"It's time to go, Ron."

* * *

Ron moved further back in the shadows, his ready to strike.

"I guess now is a good time for some shut-down time," the robot proclaimed. Ron waited, hesitating. If the robot would just shut down, it would be so much easier…

"Is that you, Wade?" the robot suddenly said, its voice raising sharply. "Wait, NO! INTRUDER! AY YI—"

In a swift move that could not be matched by the robot, Ron circled the robot and shoved the disk roughly in its back. The robot slumped, its lights flickering and then dying. Ron took out his blaster and shot at the panel the robot had reached for first. It exploded in a burst of sparks, an unpleasant burning smell of melted electronics the only thing it was capable of producing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron saw a flash of blue light in the tube. "Alpha," a deep voice intoned with a slight edge of panic. "What is the matter? What—"

The blue being, who Ron knew was the famous Zordon, went silent as soon as he saw Ron. Ron refused to look at him, preferring to look for an appropriate plug-in. He couldn't waste any time.

"That was communications in the console I took out," Ron said, still poring over the other consoles. "Wasn't it?"

"And teleportation," Zordon confirmed, his voice unreadable.

Ron nodded, humming to himself. He finally found what he was looking for and plugged in Finster's device. It flashed red, beginning the download of their files. All Ron had to do was wait it out.

"Ron," the deep voice said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

So that was right. Zordon knew his name, even behind the mask. "More mine than yours, I would think," Ron said.

Ron finally turned to face him. Zordon's face was inscrutable, though not as much as it would be in a few minutes. "Empress Rita has told me a lot about you," Ron said. "How you'd try to turn me from my duty. It's not going to work, but I'll let you talk… since these may be the last words say on earth.

Ron saw Zordon's eyes cut over to the cable snaking its way from a console.

"Oh, yeah," Ron said with a laugh. "After that thing gets done with the download, you're going bye-bye. It's programmed to scramble your signal so hard you'll be lucky to see the Rangers' great-great-grandchildren… if they live to have any, of course," Ron ended.

"You seem to have devised a flawless plan, Green Ranger. I would expect no less from someone Rita chose. When did this happen, by the way… since you're, ah, allowing me to talk."

Ron shrugged. "Last Friday. I was completely her servant by Sunday, and I got the Power Coin."

"So it's been a busy week for you."

"Can't complain."

Zordon paused. "That's where you and I differ, Ron. I would complain, myself, rather bitterly about being enslaved. I suppose to each his own."

Ron scowled. "That the best you can do? Cause you're not telling me anything I don't already know."

"Ron, she has you under an evil spell. Let me help you!"

"You have a good heart, Ron. I've seen that in how you help Kim especially. The Rangers need your kindness and selfless generosity. That is your true nature. Rita has just perverted it for her own use. That is what makes you unique. You have experienced true horror and have met it with bravery and generosity."

"Please, Ron… before it's too late. Before you do something you cannot come back from."

"NO! You should worry about saving yourself!" Ron started pulling out lines and tearing up the Command Center.

He looked once more at the empty tube, almost willing it to spring back to life. It remained empty. "You don't know me at all," he said in defiance.

* * *

He teleported back to the throne room, Empress Rita was in her throne, just where he'd left her.

"The mission was successful, then, Green Ranger?" Rita asked cheerfully. She was drinking from a foaming goblet, obviously expecting to celebrate. Her confidence in him made him feel a little better, but…

"The mission was a complete success, my Empress," Ron said, "Zordon is gone, the robot is caput, and the Command Center is utterly destroyed. Everything is destroyed." Rita smile evil, her plan is working.

"What's wrong, Kim?" Wade said tensely to her, but Kim was worry. "Is Rita attacking? Should we teleport to the Command Center?"

"We can't teleport," Kim said.

Wade stopped dead, and Kim was several paces ahead of him before he realized it. "What do you mean, we can't teleport?" Wade asked.

"No communication, either," Kim said. "Press your communicator."

Wade pressed the familiar face of the first invention he'd made for the team and got dead static. "The device is malfunctioning?"

"All five of them at the same time?" Kim said. "Come on… we've got to hurry. I told everyone to meet at your house. I hope you don't mind."

"That's actually convenient, "Wade said, mind whirling with options. He knew he would have to come up with solutions. This was his territory, after all. "Who knows," he said, "maybe Zordon is just waiting for us all to be together so he can teleport us to the Command Center."

"I truly hope so, Wade," Kim said.

They jogged to Wade house, which was several blocks away. she had them down to the quick. Josh was there. Brick, taking a more active but equally useless approach, repeatedly tried the communicator, his voice sounding less and less hopeful each time.

"Brick to Zordon. Zordon… Alpha… come in, Command Center."

Brick stopped when he saw Kim and Wade approach. Wade, despite his fatigue, brushed past them and began gathering components: some lifted from the Command Center mixed with human technology. He grabbed a device and began adding components.

"Any luck?" Kim asked.

Brick shook his head. "The static doesn't even change. It's like… there's nothing there to connect to."

"Don't say that!" Kim said, she said in a worry voice. "They're there…" she said, a bit calmer. "We're just having communicator problems."

"Then why haven't they teleported us already?" Brick said.

"Maybe teleportation is down at the Command Center," Tara said. "Something could be blocking our signal, too." She walk over to Wade. "Wade, what can I do to help?"

"Uh…" Wade said, trying to concentrate on too many things at once. "Grab me the modulator off the shelf."

Josh watched impatiently, as always impressed with Tara's ability to keep up with Wade. If Wade had asked him for a modulator, he would probably have reached for a screwdriver or an oven mitt.

The garage resounded with a clack as the device started glowing, and Wade grabbed his own power coin. "This should tell us something about the Command Center," Wade explained as he connected his power coin to a wire. He then connected the circuit to his communicator. "It might even get us in touch with Zordon directly, without the help of the communication network at the Command Center."

They waited for five minutes, Wade especially getting more impatient by the minute.

"This isn't good," Wade said.

"What is it?" Kim asked.

"I'm tapped directly into the Morphing Grid. I should be getting something… at least a visual of the Command Center." Wade looked up, fear plainly reading in his eyes. "I'm getting nothing. It is like there's nothing to read."

As the tense silence took over the garage and Wade stopped working, forgetting to even detach his Power Coin and communicator from the humming, worthless device, Josh knew he had to take charge.

"Well, there's still a building there," Josh said, hoping what he was saying was true. "We can't communicate or teleport, so we'll have to travel there the long way."

"Great," Kim said. "Got six hours?"

"Hey," Josh said. "We're not giving up yet. Without the Command Center or teleportation we have no way to get to monster attacks quickly. We can spot it on the news, but even then the reports are usually too late. We've got to get in touch with Zordon, and driving over there across the desert is the only way I know how. Wade?"

Wade seemed to be shaken out of his stupor. He was pulling the device in his hand apart, putting on his communicator and stowing the Power Coin safely back into his morpher. "There may actually be a way…" Wade said slowly.

"What is it?" Kim asked.

Wade switched into high gear and began rummaging through one of his bins in the corner. "It's something I've been working on that Zordon suggested I do. It was like he knew this was going to happen. I haven't tested it yet," Wade said, finally hulking a large metal brace out of the bottom of the bin. "However, if it works it will get us to the Command Center faster than on land."

"Do it," Kim said. "We need to get there."

Wade nodded. "Brick, could you help me fit this over the top of my car?"

Brick looked bewildered but moved quickly to help him with the machine. It was not heavy, but it was unwieldy. When they got the device fitted to the top, Wade began snaking wires from the device into the driver's side window. He grabbed his small toolbox with all his delicate-work instruments and began connecting wires to various hidden connectors under the steering wheel. He forced himself to take his time: he'd only mess up if he hurried.

The others kept silent as Wade worked, Tara staying close in case Wade needed her. After a few minutes, though, Wade pulled himself out of the car. He began loading several tools into a duffel bag. "Everyone get in," he said. "Where is it… here." Wade pulled a device with a screen out from behind a computer and got in the car, hooking the new device onto the dashboard. He handed Josh the duffel bag, who set it in the floorboard of the passenger's side. Tara, Kim, and Brick piled in the back.

"So what's this thing going to do?" Josh finally asked.

"You'll see," Wade said with a grim smile. He was praying they would see.

Wade backed out of the garage and began driving out of the residential area into a more deserted locale. As he hoped, the nearby construction site was empty of any workers at the time. "Seatbelts, everyone," he said. "There should be enough in the back."

He waited until the jostling for hidden seatbelts in the back ended. "Hang on," he said, flooring the accelerator. The engine roared with the new speed as Wade expertly navigated the wide circle around the construction site. With a final prayer, he decided to try it.

"Josh, would you mind pressing the yellow button on the dashboard?" Wade asked.

As soon as Josh pushed it, the car lurched, keeping the same speed. Everyone was thrown forward sharply. The engine whined loudly and died.

"Well, you tried, Wade," Tara said from the middle of the backseat.

"And succeeded," Wade said, keeping his eyes in front of him. "Look out the window."

He heard a definite scream from Kim and yelps from the others. Wade grinned, savoring the reactions.

The car was climbing rapidly in the air as the loosened steering wheel began controlling vertical movement. Wade pulled the steering wheel toward him until he felt they had achieved a good enough altitude so they wouldn't be spotted.

"Uh… Wade?" Brick said. "This car is flying, isn't it?"

The others looked at Brick incredulously.

Brick swallowed hard. "Okay, it's been a weird day. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't hallucinating."

"We're flying, yes," Wade said. "Kim, there should be a small radio in the backseat. Turn the frequency to around 770 and we should be able to tap into air traffic control. I'd rather not fly into any airplanes. Josh, the device on the dash," Wade pointed to it with one hand. "It's an advanced global positioning system… something I modified from spaceship components in the Command Center. It should have the coordinates to the Command Center in there already. Just turn it on and use the select button to highlight the Command Center."

"Got it," Josh said. It was much easier to operate than he initially thought, Josh realized with relief. He set it back on the dashboard and Wade responded to the arrows on the screen by turning east. The crackle of a radio in the backseat began to feature voices giving instructions and coordinates.

Wade smiled. Everything was going smoothly so far.

"Wade, I don't mean to break your concentration," Kim said after a few minutes, "but how the heck is this happening? The engine isn't even running."

"Of course it isn't," Wade said. "It doesn't need an engine to fly. It doesn't even need wheels or gasoline right now. I just needed to rev the engine enough to provide the flyer on top of the car with energy. The addition to the car is doing all the work."

"Okay," Josh said. "How?"

Wade laughed. "Honestly, I'm not even sure about all the theory. It's spaceship technology that's so advanced that it could just as well be magic in comparison with any of our technology. I know a few things… enough to adapt it and repair it if it has problems. It was part of a defunct spaceship in the Command Center whose flying technology was still viable. Zordon let me strip the ship."

Brick laughed a little wildly. "So… we're in a flying car, thousands of feet above the earth, and you're not sure how everything works. Are we going to be all right getting all the way to the Command Center?"

"Gosh, I hope so," Wade said cheerily. "Josh, find us some music. It'll still be an hour trip."

The other four Rangers shared worried looks, and Josh tried to find a song that he wouldn't mind crashing to.

* * *

The screen suddenly burst into static. Empress Rita moved to adjust, but a minute's work left them still looking at nothing.

"It must be the Command Center's external security," Goldar said. "It's jamming our signal to hide the location of the building."

"I believe you're right," Empress Rita said, disconnecting the screen and letting it slowly lower to the ground. "It looks like this is the end of the show, for now."

Ron was disappointed. "My Empress, couldn't Finster tap into the Morphing Grid with my Power Coin? Then we could…"

"No, I don't think so," Empress Rita said, cutting Ron off. "It's too risky, once the Blue Ranger begins to repair the damage. Besides, we can't just sit around watching all day. We must all," she looked significantly at Ron, "plan for tomorrow's attack."

"Attack?" Ron asked with breathless excitement.

"Yes, of course we'll attack," a new voice came from behind them.

Ron turned to see the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen in his life. She looked Asian, and yet there were aspects of her face and voice that could never be found on Earth. She practically glided in, wearing golden armor and carrying a matching helmet. Her hair was damp, as if she'd just showered.

"Scorpina, welcome," Empress Rita said. "I regret I could not meet you when you got in this morning, but I was still resting."

"It's quite all right, Empress Rita," Scorpina said, cutting her eyes to Goldar. "I found my way around well enough. I'm just glad to get the travel gunk off me. Flying a single-man fighter is not the best way to travel for a week."

"And your arrival is much appreciated," Empress Rita said. "I believe you know Goldar… and Squatt and Babboo." She gestured to the two flunkies, who backed away, muttering something about "crazy woman." "And this is our new ally, Ron Stoppable, the Green Ranger.

The drive to the Command Center passed uneventfully, though Wade found out he needed to prepare the car for air pockets. They'd almost bounced clear through the ceiling. When they reached desert, Wade decided they could fly closer to the ground as long as they kept a watch for people. When the Command Center loomed into view, out of sight of any roads, Wade set them down for a surprisingly smooth landing, the spaceship material on top of the car taking care of everything.

"Well, the building's still there," Josh said as they all got out of the car. Jason grabbed the duffel bag and handed it to Wade.

"Anyone remember the outside entrance?" Brick said. They usually teleported directly into the main chamber.

After a few minutes of looking, the five stood in front of a door with no handle. Wade touched a panel, and a red light immediately scanned them, making them jump in surprise.

"Power Coins and identities confirmed," a flat computerized voice welcomed them. The door slid open, grinding a bit from disuse. They entered, no one talking as they winded their way through the labyrinthal passages. Finally, they reached rooms they recognized and walked through an archway into the main chamber.

"God, what is that smell?" Kim said, coughing violently.

"It smells like burned…" Tara began.

"NO!" Wade yelled.

Wade pushed past Josh and ran the rest of the way into the main chamber. The others followed, ready for a fight. They were unprepared, though, for what they saw.

Zordon was gone. The chamber was only recognizable in shape, as everything was burned and melted. The viewing globe was in pieces, and Alpha was as immobile as a statue. Yet their attention remained arrested by the empty tube, looking dark and bleak.

"Where is he?" Kim asked in a hard sob.

"There's been an attack," Brick said in a disbelieving voice. "See… this mess was made by a person." He pointed to the places where the metal had been sliced clean through.

"That's impossible," Tara said. "Rita can't gain access to this place… can she?"

The question was obviously directed at Wade. He said nothing, still staring at the empty tube.

Josh mind seemed stuck, but he forced himself out of it. Yes, there had been an attack, though he had no idea by whom. And they wouldn't find out unless they got Zordon back and some of the equipment up and running.

Tara had, in the meantime, gone over the Alpha. "Look, there's a disk in his back unit," she said, pulling it out.

Alpha immediately came back to life, spouting words and fragments: "Wade… that… you… INTRUDER!"

The Rangers gathered around Alpha… except Wade. He remained immobile, still staring at where Zordon should be.

"Wade, get over here, "Josh said. "You can tell us what's wrong with Alpha."

Wade didn't seem to hear him.

Then, suddenly, Alpha stopped moving. The android slumped and, in a voice that was his, though devoid of all personality and energy, said, "Diagnostic detects computer virus. 24-hour recovery necessary." With that, the android seemed to shut down, with only a lone yellow light on his head blinking.

The Rangers stared at each other. "So, we haven't completely lost Alpha," Josh said. "But we won't find out what happened here unless we start fixing things. Now, I know that there are replacement viewing globes in the first room on the right," he pointed. "Brick, Tara, would you mind getting one?"

"No problem," Tara said.

"Kim, you know where the security room is," Josh said. Alpha and Zordon had briefed them all, in the past few weeks, on the security system in the Command Center. While the audio/visual records weren't in the room (they all looked like they'd been destroyed along with the computer mainframe), they could monitor the whole building from there. "We need to know if the attacker is still in the building."

"Right," Kim said, shooting worried glances at Wade as she left.

Wade didn't acknowledge Josh as he approached.

"Wade, you've got to snap out of this," Josh said to him quietly. "We can't do this without you, man."

"But he's gone," Wade said in a voice that Josh barely recognized. "He's just… gone."

"We're going to get Zordon back," Josh said, a little louder than he meant to. His voice rang around the empty chamber, which had never seemed so cavernous when Zordon was there. "We're going to fix everything."

Author notes next chapter the Green Ranger vs the Power Rangers. Please Review. Thanks for reading. Showdown battle in the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7 Green Ranger Stikes

The alarmed screamed, making everyone jump. Wade dropped the cord he had just connected, jumping to his feet to get a clear view of the viewing globe.

"It's happening," Tara said in a much higher voice than usual. "Oh, God, it's happening."

The three were grouped around the viewing globe. The picture showed a monster attacking people at the park.

"It looks like some sort of… scorpion," Wade said, as usual mildly interested in the monster's construction.

Josh was already on his communicator. "Kim… Brick. Come in."

"Kim here," they heard her voice come over the tiny speaker. "Brick is with me."

"Teleport to the Command Center. There's an attack," Josh said.

Within a minute the familiar black and pink columns of light produced their friends, who immediately ran to the viewing globe.

"Oh, gross," Kim said. "I _hate_ it when we have to fight bug monsters."

Brick looked ready to jump out of his skin. "So she's made her move."

"And for some reason allowed us enough time to prepare," Tara said.

Josh shook his head. "We'll have to worry about that later. Right now, people are in danger. We have to save them. Just…" he took a breath, fighting away an unexpected bout of nerves before the fight. "I want everyone to keep an eye out for anything unusual."

He paused and looked over his shoulder at the empty tube looming over all of them. "And may the power protect us," he ended, in a voice like a prayer.

* * *

Scorpina was having the time of her life. She jumped around in her monstrous form, which she'd had to cultivate to be taken seriously as a warrior in the male-dominated field of mercenary work. She hated to use it when she wasn't "grown," but she couldn't deny its effectiveness in scaring the shit out of people.

"Yeah, run away, humans! Aaarrrgghhh!" she growled at a gaggle of children playing a game that involved kicking around some sort of ball. "Beware the sting of Scorpina! Beware my evil… uh… evilness!"

"My scorpion sting is the phallus of nightmares!" she belted.

Okay, so not all of them worked.

At that moment, though, the five Power Rangers ran to intercept her. They immediately took battle stances, looking for all the world like they wanted to pose for a magazine.

"Oh, no!" Scorpina yelled. "The Power… something-or-others! What _shall_ I do?"

"Your rampage is over, bug-face!" the Red Ranger yelled back at her.

Scorpina laughed loud, an involuntary reaction. Apparently, Finster's monsters weren't the only ones with bad dialogue. Gasping in laughter, she waved the Putties in. The Putties swarmed, about fifteen in total. Scorpina watched as the Rangers fought the Putties, almost methodically. She didn't always like Rita Repulsa's methods, but she had to give her credit here. The multi-colored idiots seemed to be taken in by the routine.

Scorpina noticed just in time when the Red Ranger leapt through the air out of the Putty fight toward her… a move that Goldar had warned her about. She leapt aside, allowing her giant claw to graze the Red Ranger's chest. Sparks flew as he tumbled. She aimed her crescent sword at him, but he dodged under it, aiming a blow at her from his blade/gun thing. Thankfully, Ron had shown her how it worked, and she knew it couldn't even hope to cut her exoskeleton.

"You'll have to do much better, Red Ranger," she said as she caught his magically-appearing sword in her claw. With a sudden effort, she threw him back into the Putty fight, where he had to abandon the fight with her for a few attacking Putties.

Now, however, more of the Power Rangers were breaking free of the Putty fight to attack her. She blocked a flying kick from the Pink Ranger, seeming to be propelled by the Blue and Black Rangers. The Yellow Ranger shot a series of energy blasts at her, but Scorpina was able to block them with her crescent sword easily. One by one, the Rangers came at her, fists and feet flying, but she repelled each one. At one point, the Black Ranger tried to sneak behind her, but she caught him with her sting and he yelled in pain. It would not have broken through his shield, of course, but it couldn't have felt good.

"Watch out for her sting, guys!" the Black Ranger yelled, falling back to recover.

"He must have heard it was the phallus of nightmares!" Scorpina said, laughing as she repelled attack after attack. She could have escalated the fight and really hurt them, but that wasn't part of the plan.

"What the hell is the 'phallus of nightmares'?" the Red Ranger said.

"Scorpina!" the raspy voice of Rita Repulsa yelled in her head. "You're doing too well. Back off a little bit."

Scorpina sighed, but she let them get a few hits in. When the Black Ranger came back strong, wielding a black axe, she decided to let him have a moment of revenge and allowed the axe to hit her shoulder. Her shoulder went a little numb from the force, but her exoskeleton remained unscathed. Smiling grimly—something the Rangers would be unable to see—she allowed each one to score a hit, and she began writhing in exaggerated pain.

"Your puny weapons are NOTHING compared to my awesome, amazing power!" Scorpina assured them, trying to keep the mocking out of her voice. She had to sound desperate, like they had a chance in hell of beating her.

Suddenly, she realized the tingling all over was not the result of weapons clashing against her exoskeleton. The Rangers, in fact, were getting smaller by the second and backing away quickly, weapons useless at their sides.

Oh, right, Scorpina thought. All part of the plan. She'd been super-sized. Now there would be Zords.

* * *

As they screamed out the names of their Zords and jumped into the cockpits, Josh analyzed the fight they'd just had. It was weird… Scorpina didn't seem like the usual fare. She was stronger, for one thing. She could throw them around with seemingly no effort, and nothing they did made a mark on her, while all of their costumes showed battle damage.

Then, for no reason—Josh thought as he activated the Megazord transformation—the monster Scorpina seemed beaten by their weapons. Wade had scored a hit with the blade end of a blade blaster, which had had no effect when Josh tried it. Was she just playing around with them? And if so… why? Josh's stomach churned, but he tried to look focused on the battle as he joined the rest of the Rangers in the Megazord cockpit. If she _was_ just playing around, it looked like they'd have a harder time fighting than usual.

"All right, let's squash this bug," Josh said, hoping he was showing his usual enthusiasm.

The five Rangers worked at the controls in their intuitive knowledge, each taking a different system but working in perfect teamwork. Josh himself had weapons control and override, so he could take the place of any missing Ranger. From this position he could direct all the attacks while Tara took shields, Brick took stabilizers, Wade took maintenance and damage control, and Kim controlled the power flow. It was something Josh knew they couldn't do while unmorphed, or even describe when they weren't in the cockpit, but it was as easy and intuitive as breathing up here.

Making sure to stay in a clear area for battle, Josh directed the Megazord in a series of blocks, evasions, and hard punches, all the while trying to keep up with the weird sword, the sting, and the claw. It was dizzying work, and Scorpina's claw scored too many times for Josh's comfort. Sparks flew in the cockpit, but Wade was able to get everything under control before the next pass.

"Admit it," Scorpina taunted. "I'm just too much for you, Power Rangers."

Usually Josh, or someone else, would throw out a "That's what you think!" or something. But they were too busy just trying to keep up with the battle. Sure, Scorpina didn't have any magic or technological powers to contend with like some of the most difficult monster's they'd faced, but she didn't need them. She was just _good_, using her three weapons to optimum efficiency and taking advantage of any mistake Josh made.

Then the Megazord got in a few hits, sending Scorpina flying. Josh frowned. It was _just_ like before. Was it just that Scorpina didn't have any endurance? Could she not keep fighting as well for a long time? But it didn't seem like they were wearing her down. She just stopped fighting well all of the sudden, like someone flipping off a light.

"Power levels are stabilized," Kim said.

"All systems functional," Wade said.

Brick, as usual, didn't report. Everyone knew when the stabilizers weren't working, since they were usually falling down at the time. Josh remembered one time when he'd jokingly reported with the others, "Megazord not falling on ass."

Tara was still punching buttons, but finally reported, "Shields at 80% and holding."

"Then I think it's time to call on the Mega Sword," Josh said, wanting to end the battle as quickly as possible.

"You could," an unfamiliar voice broke in conversationally. "But I don't think you'll get a chance."

A breathless moment of shock, and then Josh heard glass shattering and the cockpit went dark. Kim screamed. Josh lashed out, trying to grab who was attacking them, but he couldn't tell if he was fighting his friends or the enemy in the pitch darkness. He felt the familiar swooping sensation in his stomach that heralded the MegaZord falling. He tried to feel his way to the fight he could sense just inches away from him, but his first step was on a body, and he heard Wade cry out in pain, so he stopped and tried to help Wade up. He couldn't get far, however, as he felt himself be thrown bodily out of the cockpit.

Josh hit the ground hard, though protected by his suit from what would have meant death to regular people. The other Rangers surrounded him, obviously recovering from their own falls.

"I sent the MegaZord back," Wade gasped, clutching his arm. "Couldn't catch a glimpse of the attacker."

Kim pulled herself up quickly. "No worries. I found him."

The other Rangers, now on their feet, backed away quickly. Facing them was someone dressed in a costume remarkably similar to theirs, but with noticeable differences. He was holding a curved sword and had his arms crossed. What's more… he was laughing.

"Boy, I wish I could see the looks on your faces," the fighter crowed.

"Who are you?" Kim demanded, restraining herself from launching at the fighter.

"Gee, I wonder who he _could_ be," a familiar gravelly voice came from behind them. The Rangers all turned and, sure enough, Goldar was slowly approaching with a small guard of Putties.

"We could make them guess," a mocking female voice replied from one side. A beautiful woman with armor similar to Goldar's sauntered up. She had the same crescent sword Scorpina had held. "Oh, that's right," she responded to the Rangers' stares. "Scorpina here, in 'pretty' form."

"You know," the voice of the mysterious fighter remarked, "I may be able to help them out. See… I'm dressed almost just like them, but I'm wearing green. Hey, Red, can you figure it out? Or maybe Blue Boy over there: you're supposed to be the big brain."

Maybe it was the mocking that was getting to him. Maybe it was the whole crappy day weighing on him. Maybe the attack in the cockpit of their own Zords had been too much. Or maybe it was that, in that moment, he realized that this "Green Ranger" had to have been the one to destroy the Command Center and send Zordon to who knows where.

Whatever the reason, Josh, as if seeing himself from a great distance, screamed a battle cry and launched himself at the Green Ranger, Power Sword drawn and aimed straight at the Green Ranger's chest. The Green Ranger sidestepped the attack, but Josh was ready for him. He slashed backhanded and caught the Green Ranger on his gold mantle. Sparks flew, but it didn't seem to do the damage it should have done. The mantle seemed to be a sort of shield. Still furious, Josh launched a barrage of wild attacks, which the calmer Green Ranger easily blocked and parried with his own sword. Josh was dimly aware that the others were fighting Goldar and that Scorpina chick, but he didn't care. He wanted nothing more than to beat this guy into a bloody pulp. Violence Josh didn't know he possessed erupted from him, and his attacks grew wilder and faster.

"Now, Red," the Green Ranger said mockingly as he evaded another barrage of attacks. "This is no fun if you're like this. Honestly, I was looking forward to a real fight."

With that, the Green Ranger kicked Josh in the chest hard, and Josh flew backwards through the air, feeling like he'd been kicked by a horse. Dazed, Josh could only watch as the Green Ranger launched at him, punching and kicking _hard_. No matter what Josh tried, the Green Ranger was too quick and too strong, and Josh was too worn out. His endurance, usually limitless as a Ranger, was flagging.

Josh was suddenly aware that the rest of the Rangers had joined him on the ground, soundly beaten by the seeming unstoppable team of Goldar and Scorpina, who, from the small glimpses Josh had caught, seemed to fight like one person. Josh tried to get up, but his legs didn't work right then.

"I think they've had enough," Goldar proclaimed, and Scorpina and the Green Ranger backed away. The three stood side by side in front of the fallen Rangers. Even the Green Ranger, whose face was hidden, seemed to be full of gloating mockery.

"This is just a taste, Rangers," the Green Ranger said. "This is just to show that we can beat you anytime we wish."

"Anywhere we wish," Scorpina rejoined.

"And any way we wish," Goldar finished. "The countdown to your destruction has begun."

Goldar and Scorpina teleported away, leaving the Green Ranger. "As for now… why we're not killing you here… You just haven't suffered enough. You and me, Red. Once you calm down, we'll fight for real."

Kim finally grappled a burst of energy and lunged off the ground… but she was lunging into thin air. The Green Ranger had disappeared into a burst of green smoke.

Forcing herself to move, she started helping her fellow Rangers up. "Come on, guys," she said raspily. "Let's get back to the Command Center."

* * *

"RANGERS!" a high-pitched voice screeched as soon as they teleported in. "You're back! You're safe! Ayeyiyiyiyi!"

"Alpha!" Wade exclaimed, removing his helmet. He grasped the robot before Alpha could react, and Alpha stood there awkwardly, always uncomfortable with displays of what he called human emotion.

"It's good to have you back!" Kimberly exclaimed. Brick and Tara also removed their helmets and ran to Alpha.

Josh, though, removed his helmet and threw it on the ground with a scream. It sparked once in a bright flash and clattered into a heap of loose electronics. The others whirled in shock at this unexpected display of temper, and Alpha, for once, was speechless.

Josh felt himself being x-rayed by all eyes (and optical components), and he suddenly felt ashamed. He turned from then and slumped onto the stairs near the viewing globe, holding his head in his hands. He suppose to be brave but he fail against the Green Ranger.

"Josh?" Alpha's tentative voice came over his shoulder. Josh breathed hard, trying to control himself. Finally, he felt he could talk.

"Alpha," he said in a softer voice than usual. "I'm really glad you're back up and running. It's amazing… a miracle."

Alpha suddenly turned serious. "I'm sorry, Rangers. I watched the last ten minutes of the battle. I'm so sorry."

Josh felt the others sit around him, but he didn't acknowledge them. How could he _face_ them? They'd been beaten, pure and simple. Usually in fights they could rally, and their enemies would explode. Or someone like Goldar would retreat. Or the Rangers would retreat and figure out a way to defeat whoever it was within an hour. Or… something. Not this. They'd been_beaten_, and mocked, and left. Goldar and crew hadn't retreated. They'd left them because, as the Green Ranger told him, they hadn't _suffered_ enough.

"Rangers, you did the best you could," Alpha said, trying to field the unfamiliar terrain of human emotion… and trying to fill the gap left by Zordon. Zordon would usually be the one comforting and guiding.

"No, I didn't," Josh said. "I didn't do the best I could. I was stupid."

"You can't blame yourself," Tara said.

Josh bounded up from the step and began pacing the area past the viewing globe. The others watched him, not moving. "Can't I?" Josh said, not wanting to look at any of them. "I've been losing my temper all day, but what I did on that battlefield? That was unforgiveable. I _screwed up_ and lost us the battle."

Kim looked like she was trying to hold back tears. "We all got beaten, Josh. I'm sorry, and I know you want to take full responsibility, cause you're like that, but…" She looked like she couldn't finish.

"Yours is not the only ass that got kicked," Brick finished for her.

"That's the thing," Josh said. "I instigated a fight I knew we couldn't win because…"

"The Green Ranger," Wade said in almost a whisper. "You wanted to hurt him."

The others stared at Wade, and Josh finally looked up, surprised at the raw summation. It was too close to the truth for comfort.

"It was wrong," Josh said. "We were in no condition to fight, and I should never have attacked him so stupidly."

"If you hadn't done it," Wade said in the same soft voice, "I would have. He destroyed the Command Center. He did something to Zordon. I… I wanted to…"

The unfinished thought seemed to float above them, unspoken but understood by all. Josh felt it in his gut, for Wade's sentiments coincided with his frame of mind at the time of the attack. He'd wanted to _kill_ him. For the first time in his life, he'd looked at someone and felt the keen desire to snuff out a life. For he knew, completely, that the Green Ranger was a human underneath that costume. He wasn't a monster who would explode in fiery sparks and disappear, or a Putty who would teleport away once beaten. Josh knew that this was a human who could bleed and die; he'd known it right when he was attacking, and he had _still_ wanted to kill him.

Now? Josh didn't know. He was too tired, too sore, and too utterly defeated to feel anything but despair.

"But how can there be a green Power Ranger and us not know about it?" Tara asked, obviously desperate to change the subject.

"I do not know, Rangers. I am sorry," Alpha said in a small voice, almost like a child. "I have not always been with Zordon, and I do not even know all the mysteries of the Power Coins. I had no idea there was another one."

"So it's safe to assume that the Green Ranger has a power coin like ours," Wade said, eager to latch on to the mystery.

"He'd have to," Kim commented. "That's how he got into the Command Center without being detected. He wasn't detected, was he, Alpha?"

If Alpha had been human, he would have shivered at the memory. "He came out of nowhere. I was about to shut down, when I saw him hiding in the shadows. I tried to alert you Rangers, but he was too fast for me."

"And you don't know what he did here?" Kim asked.

Alpha looked down. "No, Kim. My system was infected by a virus, and I went into emergency shutdown."

They were silent for a minute, and Josh resumed his pacing. Wade picked up a computer board and began tinkering with it.

Brick couldn't seem to stand the silence, though. "But who _is_ this guy? Is he human? And if he's a Power Ranger, then why does he work for Rita in the first place?"

His questions were met with silence. The silence then became too much for Josh. He may have screwed up royally on the battlefield, and there was nothing anyone could do to convince him otherwise, but he was still the leader of this team… especially since Zordon was still out of the picture.

"Well… what do we know about the Green Ranger?" Josh asked. "We know he has a Power Coin, which gives him access to the Command Center and Zords."

"That won't be the case for long, Josh," Alpha said, walking decisively to the patched security terminal and getting to work. He was easily able to keep up with Wade's designs, as they'd worked together so much.

"And he's obviously a 'he,'" Tara volunteered. "The frame and voice is unmistakably male."

"He never used our names, but he's got to know our id's," Kim said. "Rita knows, after all."

Wade cleared his throat. "Especially since he downloaded our computer mainframe when he was here."

The others turned to him, all but Tara shocked.

Wade shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't have time before the attack to tell anyone. But they have I don't know what sort of technology and records."

"Zordon and I have guarded against such an attack," Alpha said, not even looking up from his work. "He'll have all the surface files… including, unfortunately, the schematics for the weapons and Zords… but he won't have any of our deeper secrets. We did not want to keep all our pancakes in one basket."

The others stared at him. "You mean… eggs?" Kim asked.

"He can still study us," Josh cut in, not wanting to get derailed. "I'm guessing from the surveillance tapes he can learn anything and everything about us, especially if I'm right in guessing that he's smart."

"Well, here's the question of the day," Brick said. "Assuming he's human… is he working for Rita voluntarily, or is he under some sort of spell? And, in either case… what do we do with him?"

"Assuming we can beat him," Kim said.

Josh felt the leading edge of a headache. There was too much uncertainty. This was by far the worst attack Rita had thrown at them ever. Zordon had once told him that the difference between heroes and villains was all in what they were willing to do to win. If a hero crossed a line—became as ruthless as the villain—how could anyone call that person a hero? It was all embedded in the second rule: Never escalate a battle. Josh had done just that out of temper, and he'd had his ass handed to him.

But what about defeating this Green Ranger? What could they do to fight without escalating? What does one do to a human who has turned evil and begun aiding in the fight against his own planet? Did the Green Ranger even realize what he was doing?

Would they have to kill him?

"All right," Kim said, sobered enough by her thoughts that her temper had vanished and she was thinking clearly again. "We're all tired, and we need some rest. But we also need to stay on the alert. I'll stay here tonight to guard the Command Center just in case the security measures don't work. Everyone else goes home." Wade started to protest, but Kim cut him off. "You need to put in face time with your mom. Bring something to work on if you must. I want everyone to spend time with their families tonight and tomorrow. I don't want Rita to steal that from us. She's taken too much already. Tomorrow, come in when you can to help rebuild. Wade, you can spend as much time as you want, but I don't want you wearing out."

"What are you going to do tonight? Tara asked.

"Alpha," Kim said. "Do you think I can help you start searching for Zordon?"

"Certainly," Alpha said, still punching buttons in a seemingly random order on the console. "Thanks to Wade, all vital systems are up."

Kim nodded. "We'll save an official meeting until the usual time on Sunday… if all goes well."

Everyone took that as a cue to leave, Wade still grumbling that he couldn't keep working. He allowed himself to be led away by Tara, however. They each gathered dirty laundry from the makeshift bedrooms and departed. Brick was the last to leave.

"You okay, man?" he asked.

Josh was on the bed he'd slept in the night before, staring at a thermos of water without drinking it. "Yeah," he said shortly.

"No, really."

Josh looked up and smiled wearily. "Okay, I'm not at my best, but I'm okay." He forced a laugh. "I'm gonna be feeling that fight for at least a day, though."

Brick grimaced. "Tell me about it. That Scorpina chick was definitely holding back the first time we fought her. She nearly broke my arm once with that claw of hers."

"They could have killed us," Josh said before he could call the words back.

"I know," Brick said, his usually cheerful voice melancholy. "Makes you wonder what else they have planned for us.

Josh's stomach clenched at the thought. "We can only try to be ready for… whatever it is."

Brick hesitated, and Josh knew what his friend wanted to say. He wanted to ask what they were going to do. He wanted to abuse the Green Ranger some more, or theorize over who or what this guy was. He wanted to plan, or vow vengeance, or go over the previous fight, or… In point of fact, everything that Jason himself wanted to do or say but couldn't bring himself to face.

Apparently, Brick couldn't face it either. He fell back on what they always seemed to talk about when there was something they couldn't. "You think Middleton Mad dogs will win the game tonight? You weren't starting, so their chances can't be hurting too much."

Brick laughed lightly. "God, I hope we win. I want _someone_ to have a reason to celebrate tonight."

* * *

Loud laughter rang through the moon palace, and Ron wouldn't have been surprised if people could hear it all the way down on Earth. They were in the fancy dining room, and the table was laden with food, including an odd assortment of human food for Ron's benefit: pickles, pomegranates, what looked like curry, and Finster's approximation of popcorn, which was blue and floated slightly over the bowl.

Empress Rita sat at the head of the table, and Goldar, Scorpina, and Tommy were gathered around her. They were all laughing hard, not even eating or drinking in their merriment.

"Wait… wait…" Scorpina said, wiping her streaming eyes. "He_actually_ said… 'Let's squash this bug.'"

Ron nodded, gasping with laughter as the rest of the table erupted.

"Who are you?" Goldar said, adding a whiny tone to his version of Josh's voice. "Who could you possibly be? Why are you kicking me in the chest?"

"And… hang on, Scorpina," Ron said, trying to make himself heard over the laughter. "My scorpion sting is the phallus of nightmares?"

The four looked at each other, and then laughed even harder. Ron hadn't laughed this long and hard for years. His sides hurt, and it wasn't just from the one polite attempt at eating the popcorn.

"That was," Empress Rita said, nearly choking in laughter, "the funniest thing I ever saw. I didn't know winning could feel this good!"

Once the jokes were played out, they ate, Ron finally finding some alien food that was more palatable than any of the human food provided. As for drinks, he avoided the purple stuff.

Empress Rita sent around a Putty with drinks and refills for everyone. "I propose a toast," she said in a carrying voice, and the others stopped eating. "To the Green Ranger… whoever he may be," she ended in heavy irony to general laughter.

"To Scorpina," Goldar shouted. "Who looks lovely in any form!"

"To Ron!" Scorpina said, already hanging off Goldar after the compliment. "Who's not as much of a loser as I thought he was!"

"Thank you so _very_ much," Ron said wryly, to more laughter. He waited for the laughter to die down. "To Empress Rita," he said in a sober voice… as sober as he could after three toasts. "Who will grind the Power Rangers under her heel."

Author Notes, had Rita won? Will the Power Ranger find out who is the Green Ranger? More to come next chapter, please review, thank you all for the review's, I updated the story fast because I like writing.


	8. Chapter 8 Shocking Discovery

Next day, Rita makes her green ranger prove his abilities and powers to her. She notices that Kim has some affect on her young ranger and needs to strength her spell. At lunch, she pulls Ron aside to battle. He must face putties, unmorphed if he wants to receive the Sword of Darkness. the Sword Of Darkness, which acts as a catalyst for keeping him under her evil spell permanently. Ron defeats the putties and raises the sword proudly.

"With this, the power rangers will be destroyed! And I'll start with the Red Ranger."

After school, Kim meets up with Brick at Wade's garage.

"I hope Tara and Wade are having better luck today," Kim said sitting on the Rad Bug. 2 days now without Zordon. It took a while for Wade to fix Alpha and get the wiring and panels into some order. And with Rita's new green ranger awaiting, the rangers knew the battle ahead would be the toughest one they will ever face.

"Well, communicators are still down. Looks like we are taking the Rad Bug."

At school Ron smirk as he saw Josh painting, Josh need to get his mind off the green ranger, Ron saw Josh in he transports Josh to the Dark Dimension.

"Where is Josh! He should be here now!" Brick said.

"I don't know," Brick said. "It's not like Josh to be late." Kim looked around. With no way out the dimension, no means to contact to his friends, his morpher gone, Josh must face Goldar.

"I'm worried, Brick. Josh should be here now." Kim worry vocice.

"We can't afford to wait. Come on."

"Wait, we can't leave Josh. I don't feel good doing that."

"He can take care of himself, Kim. You know that. Come on." Kim walked around to the passenger side.

"I hope you know what you're doing?"

"Me too, buckle up," Brick said opening the driver's door. They got in and flew off to the Command Center. "Whoa, man, this is the only way to fly."

"Yea, right." Kim stared off.

"Oh, come on girl. Cheer up. Wade and Alpha will find a way to bring back Zordon." Brick said.

"It's not just that. It's...it's Ron."

"Oh, he gave you the cold shoulder again."

"Yea, well, it's weird. It's like he changed over night."

"We got bigger problems to worry about than that now." They arrived to the Command Center. "Any luck in finding Zordon?" Wade had the place almost looking back to normal, as he finished up a few more wires.

"Wade and Alpha almost have the main computer back online." Wade closed the panel and the lights started flickering on.

"Something is going on." They all looked around. Kim's eyes went to the globe. On screen came the Green Ranger.

"Guys, look." She pointed.

"It's that green guy. Now it's our chance to nail him and get to the bottom of what's going on here," Brick said.

"We have partial power," Alpha said.

"Great, let's morph and get this green dude."

"We need Josh," Kim said. Brick tried his communicator.

"Josh, Josh, come in. Man! This things still aren't working."

"Where is Josh?" Tara asked. Brick and Kim shrugged.

"Alpha contact Josh when you can. Tell him to meet up at the bluff. Come on, guys, let's morph."

The rangers were able to use the Megazord and defeat the Green Ranger. This marked the first time use of the Mammoth Shield, which is basically the Mastodon Dinozord's head. The Green Ranger was overmatched by the Megazord and had to get away. Josh was still trapped in the dark dimension fighting Goldar. Wade informed them, that he couldn't find Josh now. Alpha was briefly able to bring Zordon back, but with not enough power from the Command Center to secure his location and keep him.

"We need to find Josh," Kim said.

The rangers decided to go search for Josh. Wade stayed at the Command Center, Tara stayed to help out. Kim and Brick separated to find Josh on their own.

Kim decided to go to the school to find Josh. She thought she remembered Josh saying something about painting there today to. After taking to Mr. Barken and finding out Josh hadn't been there.

"Will you tell Josh I'm looking for him Mr. Barken?"

"You got it, Kim."

"Thanks." Kim walked out. She bumped into Ron. "Oh, excuse me. Ron. Ron wait!" Ron stopped and looked at her. "Have you seen Josh around?"

"As a matter of fact no, he never showed up." Ron look at kim.

"Weird, that's not like Josh."

"And let me guess, you were worried, right? That is what you do best, isn't it, Kim." Kim looked at him.

"Hey, Ron what's up?" Ron just looked down at Brick and walks away. "What is his problem?" Brick walk up to kim.

"I wish I knew. Hey, did you find anything about Josh?" Brick look at kim.

"No."

"It's funny, Ron said he didn't see Josh at school, but he never showed."

"That's bogus. I know Josh, Josh would have been there."

"Then you talk to Ron , okay. He probably just thinks I'm making all of this up just to say something to him."

"Come on, let's catch up with him."

Rita sends putties down to keep Brick and Kim from catching up with Ron. After they defeated the putties, Kim looks around and find Ron gone.

"You okay?" Brick asked.

"Yeah. Ron gone."

"Something is definitely up."

"Weird, the putties didn't even attack him." Kim looking around for Ron.

"Yea. Come on, let's get back to the Command Center."

In the Dark Dimension, close to losing to Goldar, Rita decided to send her green ranger to defeat Josh. The green ranger had Josh to his back and was about the deliver the final blow with his sword, but with Josh's hands on his morpher, Wade and Alpha were able to contact him and teleport him to the Command center. Josh laid on the ground, breathing hard.

"Josh! You're back!" Kim was the first to drop down to her knees and help Josh sit up.

"Man, guys that was too close. Green Ranger nearly sliced and diced me."

"Green Ranger?"

"I gotta fill you guys in. You won't believe what happened?" Kim rubs Josh's head as Tara rubs his back, Josh tried to catch his breath. Back at the dark dimension, Goldar very anger at the green rangers, makes him stay there as punishment.

"When I saw Ron at school I ended up..."

"Wait, you saw Ron at school?"

"Yea."

"He said, you didn't show up," Brick said.

"That's weird. Anyways...the next thing I know, I'm fighting Goldar and he has my morpher. Then the green ranger shows up and we go at it."

"Green ranger? Did you find anything else about him?" Kim asked.

"NO, but I can tell you one thing. He's one mean fighter."

"Man, can you believe that our enemy this time is one of us? Another ranger?" Everyone shook their heads. Alarm went off. Scorpina had attacked the city. The rangers morph to battle against her. Rita debts on how she will defeat the rangers once and for all. She sends Goldar down to help Scorpina and decides to cast a spell to weaken the rangers and their zords if they call them into battle. Green ranger still in the dark dimension fighting out his aggression. Rita pulls back Scorpina and Goldar. The rangers retreated back to the Command Center.

"Rita is bound to hit us again, especially now that she had Green Ranger and Scorpina at her disposable. But I don't understand...," Kim said.

"Yea, she seems to be pulling back after every battle." Tara said.

"As if, she's getting ready, getting ready to attack us with an even bigger battle." Brick said.

"At the least the wrist communicators are back online with the computer." Wade told the other Randers.

"Since it's powered up more, can we now start looking for Zordon?" Josh said.

"Alpha has already started a broader scope." Wade said.

"Rangers, I'm scanning the sector where Zordon's last signal was," Alpha said. "And I think I found something."

Zordon, faint, came to the tube. But not enough power to hold him there. It started drawing power from the Command Center core, lights flickering on and off. Zordon was trying to tell the rangers, but none of his words made since, as they came in broken up.

"We lost him again," Kim hit the top of the panel in frustration.

Rita sends down a giant Goldar to attack the city. The rangers go to morph, butwith a power drawn, their morphers pop and spark, completely shutting down the morphin grid leaving them helpless to aid the city.

"I can't believe we are stuck here!" Josh pounded the panel.

"Man, things keep going from back to worse!" Brick said.

"We need to figure out what we can do and do it soon before Goldar destroys the city," Kim said.

"I go it." Wade rushes to the panel. "I think I got an idea, just hold on." Wade starts working on the grid. His causes a few more sparks to go off, but in the end, get the power back on line enough.

"Great job, Wade."

"Way to go," Kim said rubbing his back. The rangers now able to morph, go to deal with Goldar. Scorpina appears with an army of putties to keep the rangers from Goldar. Green Ranger was sent to the Command Center in attempts to sabotage it again. However, he under estimated Alpha. Alpha 5 was able to capture Green Ranger in a stasis shield. Rita frees her green ranger and makes him grow like she did Scorpina and Goldar. The trio outnumbering the Megazord in battle. Rita casts a spell to eclipse the sun and cut off its solar power reserves. Though the Power Sword helps add a boost of energy, the Megazord falls to the trio of evil. The rangers get tossed from the Megazord.

They land on the ground, demorphed. They run to wear the ground opened. The Zords separate and scatter into a burning hole in the ground.

"NO!" Kim screamed and covered her mouth. Rita on a cliff, laughs and disappears.

"OUR ZORDS!"

"They're totalled!"

"I can't believe this," Tara said. "It's like Rita has destroyed a part of us."

"There were always there for us," Wade said.

"And now look, they are gone." Brick said.

"Just when we need them most," Kim said. "What are we going to do now?" The rangers know that without their zords and without Zordon, it was bad, really bad. And with no hope in sight, they went back to the Command Center.

"That's it. It's over. Power Rangers are history. It's actually over with," Kim said.

"Yea, Rita has won," Tara added.

"Guys, we can't give up," Josh said.

"Why shouldn't we?" Kim asked. "Zordon is gone! Our zords are gone! Rita has her green ranger, we are outmatched, we can't possibly win."

"Wade, what are the chances of bringing Zordon?" Kim asked.

"Less than 10 percent."

"Isn't the smallest chance of victory, not worth giving up. Enough of a reason for us to keep on fighting. Guys, the world needs us. The world needs the Power Rangers." Kim told the Rangers.

"Let's just face it, Kim. Green Ranger was Rita's trump card. She played him and won."

"No," kim said walking away.

"No, Rangers, I cannot accept that. And Zordon wouldn't even accept that," Alpha said.

"But Zordon is gone," Kim said. "He's not here." Beeping came up.

"What is that noise?" Tara asked.

"What's going on?" Brick asked.

"The computer finally has an answer. When the green ranger was caught in the force field, the computer locked onto his bio-vibrations. And has been trying to create a match."

"A match? A match to what, Alpha?" Kim asked.

"Green Ranger's identity." Everyone looked up at Wade. Wade smiled and went to the panel.

"Exactly," Alpha said.

"I'll bring it on the viewing globe." Wade said quickly pressing in some commands.

"Finally, we can get some answers," Tara said going over with the rest.

"He should be coming up now." The rangers looked at the screen.

"Aww, man," Brick said.

"No way." Josh cover his mouth in shock.

"Oh, no, Kim look," Tara said.

"I don't believe it," Kim said as she was looking at the screen with Ron "Ron?"

_Author notes please review, thanks for all the reviews guys._


	9. Chapter 9 Trying to save a friend,Attack

Author notes: I fix the grammer this time and put more detail in this chapter, sorry guys I rush the last chapter but I it fix. Please review, thank you guys for all the reviews.

Everybody was shock to hear the Ron was the Green Ranger, Kim was shock that her best friend was capture by Rita. Wade got their Zords back, all they need to do is get Ron back from Rita spell.

Josh stared at the readouts, his eyes getting blurrier and blurrier by the second. He wondered how Wade could stare at computers for so long without getting headaches.

"This sector is clear," Josh said after triple-checking. "How many more to go?"

"Twelve million," Alpha said.

Josh sighed and rubbed his eyes. He'd caught a few hours of sleep, but those hours were restless trying to find Zordon.

Alpha was in the same position each time Josh looked: working tirelessly at the same console. Josh wondered what Alpha was feeling. But he'd gotten to know Alpha, and he knew that the little robot had to have some sort of emotion, even if it wasn't anything humans could understand.

Josh need to know how to get Ron back in break the spell from Rita and find Zordon.

Now, though, he practically shackled himself to the consoles, performing the search that Alpha had taught him the night before. With each sector, Josh convinced himself that it would be the next one, or the next one. If there was any time they needed Zordon, it was right now. Josh needed his guidance just as keenly as thirst. And still, the search provided no answers. No Zordon. Not even a flicker on the screen.

The crackle of teleportation sounded behind him, and Josh forced himself to keep looking at the readout.

"Wade, good!" Alpha said. "You can take over for Josh. He needs to rest."

Josh looked up furiously. "I'm fine, Alpha."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Wade was pulling him from the console with more strength than usual. "You're not fine, and what if we miss Zordon because you're dozing off?"

Josh wanted to argue, but the combined stares of Wade and Alpha made him accept the inevitable. "All right… so I'm a little…"

"Exhausted," Wade said. "I'm going to make sure you go home later. Right now, though, I would suggest you review the tapes of the last battle. That's where_you're_ the genius, after all."

Josh couldn't help but admit that Wade was making a whole lot of sense. Josh liked to study their battles—to see where any weaknesses might lay. And… well… yesterday's battle needed to be reviewed, too. The mistakes they'd made… the abilities of Scorpina and that Green Ranger was Ron…

"Gee," he said under his breath as he queued up the footage on the viewing globe, "I hope Kim better finding Ron before he do something worse."

* * *

Kim was in school doing cheerleading practice with Monique watching kim, Monique though something was the matter with Ron because the way he been acting lately around Kim. When cheerleading practice was over Kim spotted Ron in the gym lifting weight.

"Ron." Ron continued on lifting weight. "Ron, I know. I know you're the green ranger." Ron puts the weights down. He get up and walk out. "Ron, wait!" Kim follows him. She grabs his arm in the empty hallway. "Please."

"Pink ranger, I will only say this once. You and your friends will soon be destroyed." Kim gasped as Ron left the gym, his eye turn green.

* * *

The house was dark, but Wade wasn't worried. His mom liked to rest coming home from work, and generally took afternoon naps. He went to go to his room, he need to find how to break Rita spell that was controlling Ron, his friend was mind control by Rita, he went home to get more imformation, sure he we be back at the command center to find Zordon.

"Hello, Wade," a voice sounded from the living room as he entered.

Wade's heart stopped, and his eyes finally focused to the darkened house. The curtains were all drawn tight, his mother was nowhere to be seen, and the Green Ranger was sitting casually in an armchair.

Wade's first reaction was blind panic. He stumbled back and reached, his hands shaking, for his Power Morpher. He didn't even care if his mother was near… if she would be able to hear him. It was an emergency.

But the Green Ranger was too fast for him. In the space of a blink, the Green Ranger was nose to nose with him. Wade felt his Power Morpher pulled roughly from his grasp, and in the next swift movement his communicator was torn from his wrist. All Wade could do was freeze, waiting for a blow that could end his life.

"Sit down, Wade," the voice said to him, muffled by the mask to sound almost inhuman.

Wade had never, until that moment, realized how utterly terrifying a Power Ranger really was, Ron his friend being control by Rita.

"Where's my mother?" Wade asked, trying to keep his voice strong.

"She's safe." The Green Ranger cocked his head in the direction of the hallway. "I've got her tied up in the bathroom. She won't be able to hear a thing, so your precious secret identity is intact."

Wade stood there, a cold sweat breaking out all over him. Different impulses warred within him, mostly centered on the items the Green Ranger held just out of his reach.

"You're smart, remember?" the Green Ranger continued. "And as long as you continue to be smart, your mom stays safe. And being smart means not trying to be heroic." He waggled the Power Morpher, which Wade had been staring at. "So eyes off this."

Involuntarily, Wade's eyes turned sharply from the Power Morpher to look straight at the Green Ranger.

"Ron let me help you, Rita have you under a spell." Wade pleaded, trying to get his friend back. Ron didn't listen.

"Good," the Green Ranger said. "Now I believe I asked you to sit down."

When Wade didn't move, the Green Ranger shoved him. Wade collapsed on the couch, eyes still locked on Ron.

"I won't let you hurt my mother," Wade heard himself saying. His voice sounded stronger than he was feeling.

The Green Ranger seemed to laugh. "That _is_ up to you. You can't stop me from doing whatever the hell I want, but as long as you stay nice and compliant…" His voice trailed off.

Wade gulped and tried to find a semblance of normality. "What do you want?" he asked quietly.

The Green Ranger sat in the armchair next to the couch, the Power Morpher and communicator now tucked in his belt. "Now, why would I 'want' something? I just came by for a chat."

Wade raised his eyebrows.

"All right," the Green Ranger said. "You've got me. I'm here to give a message, but we can have a nice chat in the meantime. I mean, we've got time. This house is invisible to the Command Center right now, by the way. No alarms are going… no one's coming to save you. So as I said… We have time."

The tiny flame of hope that Wade had kept alive died. The others wouldn't come here by chance, after all. Brick and Tara were busy, Kim was probably still at school, and Josh was either asleep. Wade was alone, and he was responsible for keeping his mother and himself alive, as well as somehow getting his Power Coin back, and he was absolutely and completely helpless. While his brain before had been sluggish, it was now alternating between frozen in terror and racing for answers and alternatives and ways of escape. There were none, and the Green Ranger knew it.

"Tell me, Blue," the Green Ranger said. "How much do you want this Power Morpher?"

Wade stayed silent. He partially didn't want to give the Green Ranger a chance to mock him, but also felt too afraid to speak.

"You see?" the Green Ranger said with a laugh. "You're worthless without this! You've probably found out that I downloaded the Command Center records. I've been studying you. You're the big brain, of course, and that's all great and wonderful. But you're no fighter. Not without your morpher."

"Your point being?" Wade asked, again in a stronger voice than he expected.

"I especially appreciated one of those battles with the Putties," the Green Ranger continued, as if Wade hadn't even spoken. "You know the one… We attacked all five of you."

"Not that I'm sexist or anything," the Green Ranger continued. "I mean, I work for a very powerful woman. Between Empress Rita and Scorpina? Talk about power. But still… just between the two of us, that rescue's gotta sting."

The Green Ranger stood up and paced the room. "I can tell you're getting impatient, so I'll just go ahead and make my point. I came here… not to any of the other Rangers' houses, but to here and specifically to you… because you're a victim. You rely on this rush of power and you never _ever_ worked for any of it. Boom… you're a superhero. You didn't earn it. It was just given to you. And you have the _presumption_ to count yourself with the actual fighters."

"All right," Wade said, trying to keep the tumult of emotion from his face and eyes, and still wondering if there was a way for him to tackle the Green Ranger and get his morpher back. "You've made your point, and you've proven it. There's no real way I can fight you without my Power Morpher." Wade's voice grew tighter and tighter. No matter how he tried to control himself, his breaths were coming out in short, panicked gasps. "So what is the message already?"

A fist came out of nowhere and connected with Wade's jaw. Wade felt something give. The force of the blow sent him toppling over the back of the couch, and his head dashed against the floor. He saw stars.

"This is the message," the Green Ranger said, towering over Wade. "I use you as a punching bag for a while, and the other Rangers get to see your broken body. Pretty damn effective, isn't it?"

Before he could stop it, a white boot came crashing down on his chest. Wade involuntarily gave out a strangled scream.

"Hmmm, that was one of the ribs," the Green Ranger chuckled. "Do you think I broke it, or just cracked it? Either way, it's gonna hurt like hell for a while."

Wade felt himself being dragged to the archway between the living room and kitchen.

"That looks sturdy enough," the Green Ranger said, tugging at the bar a bit. He kicked the duffel bag out of the way, even as Wade had considered using it as a weapon. "Okay, Wade… I gonna need you to hold on to that bar. That'll keep you upright. You _are_a punching bag, after all. Whoever heard of a punching bag lying on the floor?"

Wade's fury connected. "Ron…" he sputtered through the pain, "let me help you."

The Green Ranger didn't listen. "If you don't, your mom's going to take your place. Makes no difference to me."

The fury choked off into fear. As it was, Wade was already picturing what the Ron could have done to his mother. The thought of her taking this for him… Wade tremblingly got to his feet, his chest aching with every movement. He forced his hands over his head and grabbed the chin-up bar… and waited.

"That's better," the Green Ranger said, and lashed out before Wade could even think.

Wade lost track of time. All he knew was pain and the next blow. The blows weren't as strong as the first two, but Wade knew what the Green Ranger was doing. He was marking him up, bruising and bloodying him to make him look just as hurt as he felt. Wade could already feel his face swelling up, and he wondered absently if he even looked like himself anymore.

Only once did Wade fall, when the Green Ranger landed a kick near enough his groin to make him panic. Once Wade hit the floor, he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to get up. But the Green Ranger just calmly started walking toward the bathroom, and Wade had shouted that he was getting up… that there was no need… He'd pulled himself up, and the Green Ranger had come back, kicking him in the groin for real this time. Wade held on, gasping and sobbing in pain and perversely grateful that the Green Ranger had come back in the first place.

Wade wasn't even sure what he was saying any more, as he hung on to the chin-up bar not for life, but for something else. He prayed for unconsciousness, but the Green Ranger knew just exactly how to hit to keep him awake and in pain. Blood coursed down his face from his nose, and still he hung on limply.

"I think you've had enough," the Green Ranger finally said. "You can let go."

If Wade had had the strength, he would have held on still, just out of stubbornness. But he hurt too much, and he was sickly grateful it was finally over.

He felt something drop on his chest. His Power Morpher, slightly red from his blood, glinted in the corner of his eye. The communicator fell on the floor near his hand. Wade tried to reach for it, but a white boot came down on top of it, and Wade heard a sick electronic crunch.

"No communicator… we'll leave things up to chance a little," the Green Ranger chuckled. "And I wouldn't morph if I were you. You've got to be healthy to morph. The power would tear you apart right now."

Wade knew he was right and raged inside his head at his own helplessness. He said nothing, though. Shame quaked through him at the thought that he would give anything to keep the Green Ranger from hitting him again.

"I'm giving you back your Power Morpher because you're too weak to use it." The Green Ranger bent over close to his face, and Wade see his friend face over him.

The Green Ranger got up and used a dish towel to wipe his gloves clean of Wade's blood. The red stuck to the material, which seemed odd to Wade…

One last kick in the head, and Wade finally slipped into unconsciousness. The Green Ranger smirk evil as he teleport out of Wade room.


	10. Chapter 10 Bad news, friendship failing

Kim went to Wade house, she want to know how she will find Zordon.

She knocked at the door loudly. After the second tap, the door swung open, not securely fastened in the first place. All the lights were out. Burglars, she thought… but Wade mom car was there. He could take care of burglars… unless he'd teleported back to the Command Center.

Kim heard a muffled scream. She put her guard up, ready for anything, and entered the house.

She wasn't ready for everything.

"Wade!" she screamed. Wade lay on his side, absolutely still. His face was covered in bruises and cuts. She couldn't tell what all had happened, but he looked… dead…

She felt for his pulse, feeling sick as she did it, and felt the reassuring thumps of a beating heart. She sobbed with relief, realizing that she'd been expecting to find her friend dead.

There was another muffled scream from the hallway. Kim ran to it. She could see Wade mother's head on the floor, protruding from the bathroom. Kim knelt and removed the gag.

"Kim… thank God!" Ms. Load exclaimed. "I can see Wade's feet. Is he…?"

"He's alive, Ms. Load," Kim said, and reached for the woman's other bonds. She was tied tightly to a chair, and she'd obviously fallen over in her struggles. The ropes were cutting into her wrists.

"Forget about me," Ms. Load said. "Call the ambulance! We can't know what that monster did to him!"

Kim immediately left her, kicking herself for the lapse in judgment. She grabbed up the cordless phone and dialed 911. She gulped, trying to keep as calm as possible.

"911, what is the emergency?" a calm voice came through the line, the greeting almost one word from repeated use.

"My friend… Wade Load. He's been attacked in his home," Kim said, her voice coming out much higher than usual.

The calm voice guided her, asking for information. Kim stared at Wade, willing him to be all right. He _had_ to be.

His Power Morpher was on the floor.

In a panic, Kim stayed on the phone with the 911 operator and knelt beside Wade. She stuffed the Power Morpher in her pocket for safety and noticed the remains of the communicator on the floor. Still calm on the phone, she scraped wildly at the carpet with her fingernails, trying to pull every bit of metal from the floor. Technically, she was tampering with a crime scene. But this was Power Rangers business, and that was that.

"Alright, the ambulance is very close. Do you want me to stay on the line?"

"No… they'll be here soon," Kim said. She hung up, feeling wrung out. She wanted to call the guys right away, but it would be too suspicious if they all showed up that quickly.

Wade secret identity secure, she forced herself away from him and went back to the hallway. "The ambulance is almost here. Are you hurt, Ms. Load?"

Wade mother shook her head. "I bruised my elbow when I fell, but he said he wasn't going to hurt me, and he didn't," she ended bitterly. "Help me out of here, Kim," she said. "I want to ride over with Wade."

The knots were a bit too tight, but Kim spied a pair of scissors on the washing machine. "Ms. Load… who is 'he?' Who attacked you?" Kim asked.

"He looked just like a Power Ranger," she said tightly, impatient to get out of the bonds. "But he was green… and… he couldn't have been a Power Ranger."

Kim gasp that her best friend attack Wade.

"Yeah," Kim said, trying not to cut her clothes. "I've heard that there's an… evil Ranger or something." Kim proceeded cautiously, not wanting to give away too much of what she actually did know.

Ms. Load got to her feet and immediately launched herself to the living room. Kim trailed behind. A conflict was raging inside of her. On one hand, she knew she needed to call everyone. On the other hand, she wanted to call the Green Ranger and Rita out, to storm the Moon Palace, to take _revenge on Rita that put a spell on her Ron_.

Kim worked hard to regulate her breathing. She knew she was always the coolest in battle among all her friends, she have to stay calm in be the leader.

The paramedics came in, and the phone rang. Ms. Load was too busy answering questions to notice.

* * *

Josh all but ran through the hallway, mind clouded with panic.

He finally saw , Tara sitting in a chair in the waiting area outside the emergency room. Her face was red, and she was holding her legs curled up to her chin. Brick walked into view, having been pacing the entire room.

"How is he?" Josh said.

Tara looked up. "We don't know. We know a… lung collapsed," her voice broke, "when he got here. We're waiting."

Brick didn't acknowledge them. He just kept pacing, his eyes wide.

Josh collapsed on a chair beside Tara. "And where's Kim?"

"Talking to the police," she said. "From what she could tell me, she found Wade on the floor in his home and Wade's mom tied up in the bathroom. Wade's mom claims it was a Power Ranger."

Brick kicked a chair. The chair shuddered violently.

"Brick, stop!" Tara said in a sudden temper. "They'll kick us out."

"They'll try," Brick said, but he stopped pacing and sat on the edge of a chair, staring at the door of the emergency room.

Kim walked into the room. Wordlessly and casually, she swapped purses with Tara, and crossed over to sit next to Brick.

"What's that about?" Josh whispered.

Kim leaned in and lowered her voice as well. "Wade's Power Morpher and the remains of his communicator are in my purse." She bit her lips. "I was nervous… I thought they might suspect me, since I was the one who found him, so I swapped purses with Tara."

"But they…" Brick started furiously.

Kim shook her head. "They fully believe Ms. Load, of course."

They all sat in tense silence for a full fifteen minutes, each tick of the second hand torture.

The difference between heroes and villains is what they're willing to do: what lines they will cross. He'd just thought there were some lines even villains wouldn't cross.

Kim clenched her fist in silent fury, still staring down, unwilling to meet the worried, tortured glances of the other Rangers. It was the Green Ranger. It always came back to the Green Ranger. Rita had never been so ruthless before. This was nowhere near her style. It wasn't just that the Green Ranger was following her orders. The Green Ranger was coming up with the plans. _He_ attacked Wade.

Kim head jerked up to see her mother trotting toward them.

"Oh, good. You're all here," she started as they all sprang up to their feet. "First off, Wade going to be fine." She said it in a determinedly reassuring voice.

"Oh, thank God," Tara said. Kim had sagged to her chair, breathing easier.

"So, he's fine," Brick said quickly. "Can we go see him?" Josh and Tara surged forward.

Kim held her arm up, blocking them. "Now… wait. We're all relieved, but we can't all crowd in there."

Kim mother smiled at her approvingly. "He's going to be moved into a room very soon. You can visit him there. Right now he's asleep, recovering. He was in really bad shape. He has two fractured ribs, which made his lung collapse at one point. They fixed that, and it's going to heal nicely, so there won't be any need for surgery. But the big danger area is the concussion. Now, I repeat," she said to the renewed worried expressions, "he's going to be fine. He's young, and he's already woken up. But he'll need a long time to recover."

"How's Ms. Load?" Tara asked. "I heard she was hurt, too."

Dr. Possible smiled. "Not too badly. Scared out of her wits, and she got some pretty bad cuts from struggling against the ropes, but other than that she's fine." She frowned. "Though I think she'll be even more fine when Wade more recovered."

Kim sat down and held her head in her hands, no longer listening. She couldn't help but imagine the scene in her head. The Green Ranger looming over Wade. Wade, for some reason, powerless to stop him. She wondered how the ribs had broken. She wondered if Wade had put up a fight, try to save her best friend. He had to have, unless the Green Ranger had threatened his mother or something.

She pictured herself running into the living room, just in time to save Wade.

A hand came across her shoulder, and Kim looked up. It was her mother, and she felt the sudden, childish urge to cling to her. She clenched her fists, restraining herself, and her mother gave her that look that said she knew exactly what was going on inside kim head.

"You stay up here as long as you want," she said. "We won't get worried."

Kim stood up and hugged her, and she hugged her as tightly back. As she left, she realized she hadn't even mentioned the argument they'd had earlier. It didn't seem to matter all that much anymore.

* * *

Everything hurt.

Wade opened his eyes to see white walls, the depressing hospital white. Everything was blurry, but a few seconds groping produced his glasses on the table beside his bed. He was apparently sharing the room with someone, as a bed was right across from his, but his roommate was out for the time being.

A knock on the door. "Can we come in?"

Wade tried to scoot up in the bed, but he almost screamed in pain. Apparently, moving was not on the agenda. Instead, he said, "Yes, come in." His voice was rough, like someone else's voice.

Kim led the way in, holding some flowers. "Hey," she said quietly, uncertainly. Josh, Brick, and Tara peeked over her shoulder. They were very still, as if air currents would injure him or something.

Wade tried to smile, and he seemed to succeed because they moved easier as they walked in. Kim arranged the flowers beside his bed. "I thought these would cheer up the room."

"They do, I guess," Wade said. He had no idea what to say.

His discomfort was shared by all.

Wade laughed drily. "I… I'm fine, guys." He considered this. "Okay, I'm not _fine_, but I will recover."

"You almost _died in Ron hands_," Brick said. It sounded like he'd been holding that in forever.

"Brick," Tara said sharply.

Brick looked angry with himself. "Okay, I'm sorry, but it's all I've been thinking about. I… I just can't."

He sat in the chair under the TV on the wall, his face in his hands.

"I don't think Ron wanted to kill me," Wade said after a time. "Otherwise he would have. He had me cold. There wasn't anything I could do. He took my Power Morpher and everything…" Wade broke off. He realized he was trying to justify why he was there. Why he couldn't have protected himself, like all of them could have.

Tara walked over and put an arm around Brick. Her face was red and blotchy, and she looked like she couldn't even speak. Kim, though, sat on the edge of his bed. "Wade, it's not your fault. You were protecting your mother."

Wade felt a thrill of panic. "Did she overhear anything?"

"A little," Kim said. "No mention of you being a Ranger or anything. She did hear him threaten her, and then…" She broke off.

"Screams," Wade finished for her. His voice sounded dead in his own ears. The memory seemed far away, like not a part of himself.

"Wade, you did the only thing you could do," Josh broke in. His voice sounded rougher than usual. "You survived, and you protected your mom in the process. I mean… we've _never_ faced an attack like that."

Wade tried to believe him. It was his friend, he try to save Ron but he wasn't listing. He imagined if the Green Ranger had gone to Josh house, he know Ron don't like Josh because Kim had a crush on him. If he was in the exact same circumstance. Josh would have fought back, he would have fought, and gotten his morpher, and moved the fight outside away from his mother or father… Wade pictured the scenario very clearly in his mind. He could picture how each of them would have handled it. Kim would have stayed calm and maneuvered the Green Ranger to make a mistake, as he'd seen her do so many times. Tara would have attacked quicker than the Green Ranger could think, ending the fight quickly with a few well-chosen blows and evasions. Brick would have taken control of the conversation and flustered the Green Ranger until he attacked blindly, giving Brick the advantage.

Wade watched each fight in his head. Looking around, he knew the Green Ranger was right. He was the only helpless one of the group. He was the only one who needed rescue.

"If he didn't want to kill you," Kim said, and it was obvious she was forcing herself to talk, "then what was he after? I would have thought kidnapping or something would have been the better option. And why did he leave your Power Morpher?"

All eyes were on Wade. He shifted, and then regretted that instantly as his chest seized up in pain. He tried not to wince. "He… he began by saying he wanted to leave a message. Then it became clear that I was the message." He stared at the others, who were looking away. He wondered what sort of "message" they were deriving from him. He was painfully aware of his body, of his broken ribs and newly inflated lungs, of his bruises and swellings. He was aware of how he looked to them.

"All right," Kim broke in to the uncomfortable silence. "I think we need to let you rest. You need to focus your energy on recovering."

Brick got up swiftly and walked straight up to Wade. "I'm sorry I was useless here," he said, half-smiling. "I really wanted to come in and cheer you up… or something."

"With a torso full of broken ribs," Wade commented drily, "I don't think laughing is the order of the day. Besides…" He smiled for real this time. "You made me feel better anyway. You all did." He looked around at his friends, taking comfort in their nearness for the first time.

Tara came over to the other side of his bed. "I'm so sorry. I feel awful. I was right across the street the whole time, and I didn't even know…"

"Don't worry about it," Wade said firmly. "Ron was very careful. He made sure no one knew or could interfere."

Tara bent over a kissed him on the cheek. She tried to hug him, but she was afraid to, and Wade was a bit relieved when she gave up.

Kim grabbed Wade's hand. He felt metal being pushed into his palm, and he realized it was the familiar circlet of a communicator. "I stopped by your lab to get an extra," she said in a low voice. "I grabbed your morpher and what I could of your old communicator while I was calling 911. I tried to get up every bit," Kim bit her lip. "I mean, I didn't want the police thinking anything strange."

"Thank you," Wade said. He smiled. "There are bits of metal and circuits all over the carpet in the living room. They won't find anything amiss."

Kim smiled. "Just in case, I teleported up anything suspicious in the lab. I want you to promise to get in touch with us if you need us," she said. "I also have your Power Morpher with me, but I thought it might be a hassle to keep it hidden."

Wade smiled, trying to keep the bitter edge out of his voice. "It's not like I'll need it."

"I'll keep it safe for now," Kim said, though she frowned, and Wade wondered what signals she was getting from him. She always knew what he was thinking better than the others.

A sudden impulse took Wade, and he grabbed her hand as she was leaving. "I'm sorry," he said.

Kim's brow scrunched in confusion. "What for?"

Wade shook his head. "Nothing… never mind.

Kim looked like she wanted to pursue the question, but she seemed to think better of it. She followed Tara and Brick out, and looked pointedly at Josh.

"I'll catch up," Josh said. Kim gave him a severe look, but Josh didn't look perturbed. "I won't be long."

The three left, and Wade wished Josh was with them. He felt drained from the very act of "being fine."

Josh folded his arms and began pacing, obviously trying to stay in "Brave" mode. Wade understood. What the Green Ranger had done to him had escalated the war. It was a move that had to be answered, and Wade understood Josh needed to force himself into cold-bloodedness. Josh shored up his emotions and prepared to answer anything Josh asked of him.

"I need to know exactly what the Green Ranger did… what he said… everything," Josh said, his face a mask.

Wade nodded once. Without looking at Josh, he told him everything he remembered. It wasn't difficult. Every word, every gesture… it was all burned into his brain. He could still hear the Green Ranger's mocking laughter as sure as if he were beside the hospital bed.

Wade occasionally glanced at Josh, who wasn't looking at him. He was expressionless, but his emotions centralized in his hands. Fists clenched and unclenched and clenched harder. He'd stopped pacing after a while. His face jumped at every insult and every blow. Wade began to feel his own anger empty into Josh, and he wasn't sure he wanted that, but he knew Josh had to hear… had to know.

"Oh, God," Josh said quietly, his voiced strained. And that expression of horror and grief was better than any wild railings Wade had feared. It summed up Wade frame of mind.

"We're going to fight him, Wade," Jason said. "And if we don't break Ron spell, I haven't beaten him by the time you recover enough to fight again, I'll make sure you can pay him back, blow for blow. I know that's not what martial arts is all about. I know that goes against some sort of 'hero code' or something, but, dammit, it's _right_."

"Yeah," Wade said without spirit. "We get Ron back."

Josh shot a look at Wade. "Wade, what did you mean… what you said to Kim? About your Power Morpher."

_Damn_, Wade thought. _He wouldn't just ignore that._

Wade smiled and tried to gesture around. "I am hardly in the condition to keep a Power Morpher. I'll have a hard enough time hiding the communicator."

"That's not what you meant and we both know it," Josh said. "You didn't say 'I don't need it right now.' You said 'It's not like I'll need it.' Future tense."

Wade glared at Josh. "What's your point?"

Josh raised his eyebrows, continuing to stare at Wade. "I just don't want to see you give up, that's all. The Green Ranger's not worth that. You've got to prove him wrong."

"Prove him wrong _how_?" Wade burst out. His chest ached more, but he didn't care. "Prove him that I'm not helpless? Prove to him that he can't attack me and put me in the hospital? Because it's a little late for that."

Josh was a little taken aback, but he stood his ground. "You need to prove to him that he can't scare you away…"

"You know what?" Wade said. "He can. Okay? I was _scared_, okay? I still am. You don't _know_." Wade head started to pound. "He didn't attack you, or Tara, or Kim, or Brick. He attacked me. I'm a _victim_, my best bud Ron is mind controll, remember?"

"You're not…"

"Save it," Wade interrupted Josh. "Save your pep talk. How exactly can I be a Power Ranger," he said the last few words in a whisper, "when I can't even protect myself? And he knew that, and that's why I was a target. So how can I bring the whole group down again by taking powers I don't even deserve? When I couldn't even use them when I needed them most?"

Josh face clouded, and Wade could see both fury and grief warring in his eyes.

Wade sighed, exhausted after his burst of temper. "I… I'm not abandoning the group, okay? I'll still help as much as I can. Alpha still needs help with the Command Center, and once I'm recovered I can be Mr. Fix-it." He paused. "And I can fight if it's absolutely necessary. But it may be time to start looking for someone else to take my place. Someone… who can actually fight."

Wade laid his head back. It felt too heavy on his pillow, and he was a little dizzy. The dizziness passed, though, and he just felt extremely tired.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Josh was there, his face now calm. "It was unfair of me to do that when you're so hurt," Josh said quietly. "And when I'm so angry at the Green Ranger. Get… get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow before the meeting."

Wade knew that he had changed. The Green Ranger had broken any illusions of safety he'd held, and Wade was grateful for the doctors and nurses. He slept, and woke, and was grateful for the reassuring presence of a sleeping roommate, and could sleep some more.

For he was scared. Brick was right. He had almost died. He knew enough about medicine to decode what the doctors said about him. He had escaped death, and he was scared of the Green Ranger, he was scared for his best bud Ron, what would he do to the others and what he could do to him. And he knew he would never morph again.

* * *

Tara and Kim walk back to Middleton High and they cut across Main Street,

"He's going to be all right," Tara said. "It'll take time to recover, but there could be something we could do at the Command Center. Some sort of alien medical technology we could adapt… or something."

"Yeah," Kim said. "I mean, Zordon would have had to have planned for this."

The silence grew thicker as they turned down a street. Tara suddenly wished they'd been able to teleport directly there. For the past few weeks she'd been able to face the lonely dark with confidence—after all, she fought space aliens on a regular basis—but now, after Wade attack… Kim was hugging herself, glancing nervously into alleyways, and Tara knew she was thinking the same thing.

"I'll start working on the teleporter tonight," Tara said. "This is ridiculous not being able to teleport anywhere we want."

They came within sight of the School gym. Muffled music filled the silence of the afternoon, and a small group of older teens were laughing and sneaking back behind the building, probably to smoke. It was all warm and familiar…

The two of them walked over to the school.

Kim went to the bathroom, Tara smiled and waited outside.

"Psst!" she heard a voice from around the corner. "Hey… Tara!"

Tara turned, wondering who would say "psst" anyway. Ned was there, hiding in the doorway of a supply closet, and motioning her over. She walked over, thinking Kim would be at least another ten minutes, from the state of her mascara.

"Tara… Kim with you, right?" Ned asked, still in a whisper.

"Yes, she's in the bathroom," she said, looking at Ned.

Ned's eyes widene and Tara noticed for the first time that he had a black eye. "You need to get her out of here. Don't let her go into the gym," Ned said.

"What's going on, Ned?" Tara said, whispering without knowing why.

"I was in there, but then I heard _him_ talking." Ned looked toward the gym, and his eyes grew murderous.

"By him, you mean…" Tarai prompted.

"bad boy Ron, Ron." Ned spat the name out, like an insult. "You know, the one who's hang out with Kim."

Tara nodded, seeds of fear bubbling up in her. Though, she reasoned, it could have been Ned blowing things out of proportion. "What was he saying?" she asked.

Ned turned his serious eyes to her. "Tara… not anything good. Not anything I would repeat. He was calling her…" He gulped. "The word 'slut' was the nicest word, I guess."

Tara held her breath. _No…_

"But…" she stammered. "It couldn't have been… Are you sure, Ned?"

Ned looked at her furiously. "Why do you think I have this black eye? He _hit_ me when I tried to defend her, you should have _heard_ him, Tara. He was spreading all around the school that Kim jumped him just this morning. Practically had sex right on top of him. That she _begged_ him…" Ned spat out the words with as much vehemence as he had Ron name.

Ned's was looking at Tara. "Um… he's here with another girl. And they're sort of all over each other."

Tara heart pounded. Part of her wanted to run right in and confront Ron, and part of her just wanted to get Kim out as quickly and quietly as possible.

Ned expression changed to horror as he looked over Tara shoulder. Tara turned and saw Kim walk right into the gym. She obviously hadn't seen Tara in the shadows and thought she'd gone in.

"Go on, go on!" Ned said in a panic. "Get her out before…"

Tara didn't wait. She ran to the doorway, but a group of seniors were just leaving. She made herself as small as possible and squeezed through the crowd, apologizing as she trod on feet in her haste. But it was like walking against the ocean, and it took several minutes for Tara to spot Kim on the other side of the room.

The scene played out in the flashes Tara could make out as she inched forward between the mass of dancing, talking people. Kim had walked up to Ron and was talking to him, and Tara could make out the word 'Wade' on her lips. Ron grin evil, saying things that Tara couldn't make out. And then… a beautiful girl approached with drinks and pulled Ron into a passionate kiss. Ron answered in turn, and Kim could only gape in horror. "What?" Tara could hear Kim say distinctly.

The rest of the student was starting to stare at them, and Tara had to practically shove people aside just to get to Kim. She still couldn't quite hear what they were saying yet. Kim had pulled Ron away from the other woman

She practically screamed. Monquie cover her mouth in shock, Bonnie look on, Bonnie wonder what got into Ron, and Tara had to fight to keep moving ahead instead of finding those people and hitting them.

Ron finally detached himself from the girl and got closer to Kim. He reached out to caress her hair, and she slapped his hand away, eliciting general gasps. He looked at her like she was crazy. "Come on… KP, you're a good time, but aren't you taking this a little too seriously? After all, I'm sure with your skills you'll had with Josh was _no_ trouble." He leered at her, his eyes turn green, letting her know exactly what he meant. The other girl laughed mockingly and draped herself over Ron, who smirked.

This was too much for Kim. She turned and stormed off. This time, only Ron and his girl laughed. There was a feeling in the air that Ron had gone way too far with that last one.

Tara finally broke through the crowd. Kim had already gone out, and Tara was about to follow her, but she stopped in front of Ron. He grin at her with those damned laughing eyes, and she felt like ripping them out, this not the boy she once had a crush on, Tara want to beat Rita down for what she did to Ron.

"You…" she said in cold fury, in a voice that carried through the whole room. "You stay the HELL away from Kim. Stay away from all of us!"

Ron held his hands up. "Look, I'm sorry it happened this way, and we're all upset about Wade. But I can't help it if KP a psycho or whatever…"

Tara didn't fully register what happened. The next thing she knew she'd backhanded him across the face. He grin at her. She prepared for a fight. The air was tense… but then he merely licked at the cut on his lip and laughed. "I see the geek isn't her only defender, then."

"No, they aren't," a voice came from behind Tara. Mr. Barkken was pushing people out of the way, his face red with fury. "And you and your friend have been causing enough trouble tonight, Ron. So why don't you find your way out of here?" Mr. Barkken pointed to the door, a path cleared in the crowd as people avoided Mr. Barkken.

Ron glared defiantly at the teacher, and Tara began to worry about the violence she always sensed in Ron. But Ron merely grinned mockingly at Barkken. "Come on, Sara…" Ron said, putting an arm around the woman, who was still glaring at Tara. "This school dead anyway."

Ron and the girl Sara walked out. Tara considered rushing after them, but finding Kim was more important than starting a pointless fight.

"Come on, Tara… Kim's in my office," Mr. Barkken muttered to her. He turned to the crowd. "All right, show's over. And if anyone causes any more trouble, they're out of here, too."

Someone started the music back up, and everyone made a brave attempt at starting the music back up again. Barkken paid them no mind; he guided Tara past his office. Kim sat in a chair, slumped over on the desk.

"You girls stay here as long as you want," Mr. Barkken said. "There's a back door down that hallway that opens from the inside and automatically locks."

"Thank you, Mr. Barkken," Tara said softly.

Barkken face turned red again. "I just got wind of what Ron…" he stopped, obviously wanting to say a word he couldn't say in front of kids. "What _he_ was saying and doing. _No one_ does that in my school, and especially not to Kim."

Tara gave Barkken a quick hug before he left. She approached the office. Kim body was shaking, but there was no sound.

Kim looked up suddenly, the newly applied mascara staining lines of black down her face. "I… guess you deserve to say 'I told you so,'" she croaked out, fresh tears spilling down her face.

Tara felt tears spill over her own eyes and pulled Kim into a fierce hug. Kim sobbed and clutched to Tara tighter.

"I… I can't be… believe," Kim said between sobs.

"I know," Tara said. She pulled away, dived for her purse, and grabbed out a tissue. She began dabbing at Kim eyes, wiping away the mascara streaks.

They held each other for a while longer. No one came to disturb them. Neither of them talked much. There was nothing to say. Tara just held Kim together, waiting for the moment that the shock and embarrassment went away and the anger connected, as Tara knew it would.

* * *

Scorpina and Ron teleported straight to his room, gasping in laughter.

"Damn…" Scorpina said, wiping her eyes. "The _look_ on her face… and that other girl…"

Ron grinned. "That oughta shake them up, don't you think?"

Scorpina pulled up a chair. "You know, I'm liking you more and more. I can't wait until we fight the Power Ranger's again."

"It's high time we attacked again anyway… wait a minute," Ron frowned. "Why didn't you teleport us to the Moon Palace?"

Scorpina bit her lip. "You need to stay away from the Moon Palace tonight. It was a great trick, and there are absolutely no feelings between us, but Goldar…"

"Ah," Ron said. "I understand. While you're here, want something to drink?"

Scorpina leaned back in her chair. "I suppose I need to hydrate if I'm going to pacify Goldar tonight."

"Ugh… I can't _wait_ to get back in my armor," Scorpina said. "I feel naked without it."

Ron glanced over at her. The red dress taken from a shop for that very night hugged her in all the right places, showing off soft curves usually contained behind armor. "I can see why," he said with a smirk.

Scorpina raised an eyebrow and smirked back. "Look, you're a good kisser, and I would totally go for it, but I'd rather Goldar not kill you. You're too nice a kid for that."

"Point taken," Ron said, it had been difficult enough to convince Goldar to go along with the plan, and Scorpina had put her foot down about them not being exclusive, but Ron still expected to pay for making out with Goldar's girl.

They chatted pleasantly, mostly laughing over the details of the "attack" earlier. Scorpina was obviously enjoying herself… she said she usually just did the physical type warfare. Ron couldn't help but admire her. She was beautiful, funny, and had a psychotic love of violence that Ron found appealing. But she could still laugh easily… and she was damn sexy. So different from Kim, and Ron wondered briefly why he was comparing the two.

There plan was working to destroy the Power Ranger's

Author notes please review. Thank you all for the wonderful review's.


	11. Chapter 11 The Spell

Ron had got back to Rita palace and she need to do more test on him.

Rita Repulsa sat in the darkened lab, feeling slightly doped up on pain medication. Ron was lying on the medical table, finally asleep, though his screams still rung in Rita's ears.

"What have you discovered, Finster?" she asked, her head still pounding with the effort of speaking.

Finster was waving a device over Ron's head, deep in concentration, so it took him a full minute to finally respond. "My Queen… I must run more tests, of course, but…"

"Out with it, Finster."

"The mind control is damaging him."

Rita leaned forward and rubbed her temples, an old habit that rarely actually helped. "That's… impossible. It's going so well. I'm doing everything perfectly, and Ron responded so well to the mind control."

"As you said right at the beginning, he knows how to compromise," Finster said. He set a scanner to monitor Ron's condition and faced Rita. "But that does not mean he becomes a completely different person. Whenever he is faced with anything that conflicts with your orders, the struggle that is ever-present in his subconscious mind comes to a head… in very violent ways."

Rita stomach twisted into a knot as she suppressed the anger building inside her. "Struggle…? He _struggles_ against the spell? I refuse to…"

"Forgive me, my Queen," Finster cut in. "You know this, yourself. Surely."

Of course Rita knew it. She stared down at her hands and remembered the planning sessions, the jubilation as Ron had performed her plans admirably. She remembered him dropping to his knees before her, professing his undying loyalty with tears in his eyes.

But even so… There was the attack on the Command Center. There was the friendship failing with Kim.

"He's not eating," Finster continued. "He's not sleeping except with potions. Most of the time, he's running on pure adrenaline. I'm not quite sure if he consciously or unconsciously punishing himself. I just know that if he continues like this…"

"Send for Babboo," Rita cut him off. "Tell him to prepare the potions. I will further reinforce the spell tonight."

Finster's eyes widened. "M-my queen! We're not sure how that will affect him. It could ki—"

"He's mine!" Rita said, rising to her feet. The pain sharpened, but she ignored it. "He's mine, and I'm not letting him go. Do. You. Understand. Me."

Finster looked for a moment like he was going to protest, but he simply bowed to Rita. "As you wish, my Queen."

Rita swept out of the lab. "Have Ron awake and ready by 7:00 tonight," she called behind her.

* * *

"Ay yi yi, Rangers! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Thanks, Alpha," Tara said quietly.

Neither Brick nor Kim responded. Kim slumped on the floor, her back against a console, and hugged her knees to her chest. Brick stood stock still, his arms folded, looking down.

"I'm so sorry, Rangers," Alpha said. "I know he was your friend…"

Brick snorted. "He wasn't a friend. He became friends with us on Rita's orders… he said so himself."

"Brick, sh," Tara said, looking over at Kim.

Kim had pulled herself tighter into a ball. She wasn't crying, but she still looked completely miserable.

Brick tried to stay angry. "Kim, what did he do to you?"

Kim looked away. Seeing Kim sink further into misery and Brick getting angrier, Tara told the story of the School. Brick's face darkened as the recital wore on.

"And why," he said after the story's completion, "didn't either of you tell me?"

"It wasn't any of your business!" Kim flared, pulling her face from her knees. "What, I have to share _everything_ with the group now?!"

"Yeah, you should share clues to your best friend after what he did to you… I don't think I'm being unfair in asking that," Brick said. His stomach twisted. He didn't want to yell at Kim when she was so miserable. He just couldn't stop.

"Oh, come on." Kim sprang to her feet. "I couldn't have realized he was evil evil. I try to save my best friend! And I didn't feel like telling you something that would get you pissed off and make you think you had to _defend _me."

"Sorry if I care about my friends!"

"Enough!" Tara shouted. She stepped between Kim and Brick, who were advancing on each other in the heat of their argument. "We shouldn't be at each other's throats," she said, a little more quietly.

They both glared at Tara. Alpha hovered in a corner, not quite sure how to react to the sudden argument.

"You're right, Tara," Brick finally said. "I'm sorry, Kim."

"Me, too," Kim said. "It's just…"

"Kim we're going to get Ron back." Tara said, Kim look at Tara with worry. After everything Ron said to her at school, Kim will still get her Ron back and break the spell from Rita.

"Right," Brick said, calling all attention back to himself. "Look, I know that we're all tired and pissed." He smirked. "Rita has planned this out perfectly. Each time we think we're regrouping, she's thrown something else at us."

"We've been letting them get to us," Brick continued. "The Command Center, the attack on Wade, using Ron against us… It's all just to make us emotional and desperate. But we're better than this. We're above all that. We're going to get Ron back, and Zordon… We're going to do all that. But first, we've got to make sure we're thinking with our heads. No more emotional attacks. That's the only way we're going to get the upper hand."

Brick looked at Kim through the corner of his eye. Tara, after all, had kept it together. It had been himself and Kim who had gone crazy.

Kim gave a sharp nod. "I'm fine… or at least I'm going to get fine. I'm getting Ron back."

* * *

The morning was crisp and beautiful in front of Middleton High School. A few teens straggled in as the clock neared 8:00, and a few were holding lively conversations about the recent battles and attacks. The big news, Wade's dramatic recovery, and Zordon had return had. Word was, a Power Ranger had healed him, since Wade had been attacked by an enemy of the Power Rangers. The rumor, of course, was spread by Wade himself, but no one knew that.

The five teens in question—Josh, Tara, Brick, Wade, and Kim—lounged at the front steps of the high school. Anyone would have guessed that they were just hanging out, cutting it rather close for getting to class. And they acted like they were hanging out. Brick was bouncing a basketball against the wall of the school. Wade was reading. Under the surface, though, the teens were tensed for action, for what they knew they had to do.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from around the corner: Ron Stoppable, trudging and carrying a bookbag. The five teens stood up, blocking access to the door. Ron stopped dead.

Ron shifted his eyes among them and tried for his customary smile. "What? You really wanna start something, right in front of the school?"

Josh remained unmoved. "You're not coming in the school. You're not welcome here."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Red. You really can't keep me from going to school. I'm a _student_ here, remember?"

"You're not," Josh said. "Not while you're working for the enemy. You're not allowed in this school, Bruono naco, your house, the hospital, the park… You're not allowed on _Earth_, and if any of us catch you down here we'll hurt you. You stay up on the moon unless you want a fight."

Ron's face twisted into an ugly sneer. "You're going to regret this. Now that I don't have any distractions, I can devote myself to destroying all of you. You'll all be sorry you did this."

The five stood there, unmoved, unintimidated. Their eyes almost reflected with pity.

Ron turned from them. In a rage, he pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket, balled it up, and threw it on the ground. A few more steps, and he teleported away.

Finster pressed a button on the platform, and it lit up. Goldar, Scorpina, and Ron crowded around it. The platform displayed a perfectly detailed map of Middleton.

"I've called you all here…"

Ron jumped. He hadn't seen Empress Rita.

"…to plan our final attack," Rita continued. Her voice practically trembled with suppressed excitement. "Finster! Call out the monsters."

"Monsters? Plural?" Goldar said.

Finster was waving his arms excitedly. "Come out, all of you!"

The throne room was suddenly crowded to capacity. Three large monsters lumbered in single file, trying not to bump into each other. They all stayed to the shadows, so no one could tell what they looked like.

Finster seemed, for once, right in his element. "May I introduce you to my newest creations? The first is called Pop Star! I got the inspiration from your popcorn, Ron."

The first monster stepped forward and bowed showily. It looked nothing like popcorn. It was blue and floated a few inches above the ground. It looked like an oddly erotic smurf, with strategically-placed armor barely concealing both feminine and masculine… traits.

"I don't remember popcorn being blue…" Goldar whispered.

Finster cleared his throat after receiving Ron's uncertain smile of approval. "Pop Star can exhibit great bursts of speed and can deafen enemies with sharp bursts of sound, much like popcorn is made."

"I'm not sure he's making popcorn correctly," Ron whispered to Goldar. A glare from Rita silenced him.

"Anyway," Finster said, clearly pleased, "my second monster is Clown Man, designed specifically to prey on the odd human fear of clowns."

Clown Man stepped forward, and Ron immediately backed away as far as he could. The monster was seven feet tall and had disproportionately large head, hands, and feet. It giggled. "I want to make balloon animals… out of your intestines," the monster ended under its breath, so no one could hear but Ron. The monster looked at him, nodding its head slowly.

"Now then," Finster said, raising his voice to get their attention, "for my greatest creation of all. This is the one that I think will completely destroy the Power Rangers. My most effective monster to date… The Grizzlinator!"

A bear stepped forward out of the shadows.

They all stared at it. "It's a bear," Goldar said.

Finster clapped his hands. "It's not a bear… it's a monster_inspired_ by the Earth Grizzly bear. See… it has a helmet."

Perched atop the bear's head was a pith helmet.

"What powers does it have?" Scorpina asked.

"It has incredible strength and speed, and it has ferocious teeth and claws," Finster crowed.

Ron squinted at it, trying to ignore Clown Man. "So it's a bear."

"It's the Grizzlinator," Finster insisted.

The Grizzlinator roared and fell to all fours. It began sniffing around.

Clown Man appeared interested in the Grizzlinator. "I bet I could make it dance with a tutu and umbrella," it said. "And it could kill Ron," it muttered, but the Grizzlinator roared at that point, drowning it out.

Pop Star floated, unconcerned.

"Empress Rita," Goldar began as Finster ushered out the monsters out, "what sort of plan would require three monsters as different as them?"

Empress Rita approached the map, facing her warriors and grinning. "I'm glad you asked, Goldar. We have suffered a few… setbacks… in our plans, so most of those plans had to be scrapped."

The three shifted uncomfortably, hoping this wasn't a segue into more yelling.

"However," Rita said, "sometimes we need these little disasters to simplify our plans. Everything was too complicated… to reliant on chance. I think now," she paused for effect, "we just need a good old-fashioned brawl. What I'm talking about is a massive attack. The three of you… and the three monsters."

There was a pause, and they could hear the roars of the Grizzlinator in the background. Finster entered the room quietly.

"We'd practically overpower the Rangers by numbers alone," Ron said.

"Is this wise, Empress Rita?" Goldar said cautiously. "Wouldn't three monsters represent a significant drain on your magical powers?"

"Do you doubt my abilities, Goldar?" Rita said.

Goldar backed down quickly. "No, my Empress."

Scorpina rolled her eyes. "Well, I am, if you don't mind. The reason you never send out more than one monster is that it weakens you, Rita, and you know that. Especially if you were to make them all grow…"

"Now that _would_ be ridiculous," Rita said. "I said nothing as foolish as making all three of them grow at once. Ron, you have your Zord, and Scorpina, you have the ability to grow on your own… with a drain on your own resources, but you won't be alone up there. Therefore, I would only have to make either Goldar or one of the monsters grow… if it comes to that." Rita smiled. "I would rather they all be defeated before we have to consider making anything grow. Now, for a regular fight, Finster has assured me that three monsters are well within my abilities… and you know how fretful he is about my health."

"It should be perfectly safe, my Queen," Finster said.

"Now," Empress Rita said, "down to business. We must actually plan the attack. That is why I have called you all here. This must be done carefully, and it would be best to keep the Rangers as off-balance as possible. Where do you think we should attack?" Rita looked from one to the other, expectantly.

Goldar scrutinized the map. "There are no ridiculous events the Rangers participate in… Those are usually good settings for attack. Not even a charity relay bowling race or whatever the hell they do…"

"But it would be better to attack them unannounced," Scorpina said. "Not just randomly so Zordon can alert them and tell them how to beat the monster… or monsters."

Rita frowned. "I'm hearing a lot of stuff I already know. I need ideas, people."

"The school," Ron said quietly.

They all looked at him as he stared at the map.

"What was that, Ron?" Empress Rita demanded.

"My Empress… we attack them at the high school, during school hours," Ron said. "It's never been done before, so they're fairly surprised. They should all be there… they can't skip any more school. They've already missed too many days. They'll have trouble teleporting out and morphing because we're going to make sure no one evacuates, so they'll be surrounded by students and teachers. Then they'll have to worry about protecting too many people."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Scorpina said.

"Yes, it does…" Rita said slowly. "Ron, this wouldn't have anything to do with what happened this morning, would it?"

Scorpina and Goldar looked back and forth between Rita and Ron, completely confused.

Ron smiled. "It has _everything_ to do with this morning, my Empress."

Empress Rita chuckled. "Good. Just checking. Right then… now that we have the setting, we'll need to carefully plan everything else…"

A large sheet of paper was conjured for the map table, and the four started to plan.

* * *

Josh was the last to arrive at the meeting after school. He looked around the Command Center… and it looked almost normal. Wade was tapping furiously at a console, obviously really into some nonessential repair work. The others were lounging about, Kim looking at a picture of her and Ron when they was little. And Zordon… finally… was floating reassuringly in the tube that dominated the room.

"And they're actually going to attack the school?" Tara said. "I mean, what do we do? Do we try to evacuate the school before it happens?"

"If we evacuate the school," Wade said, "they will simply cancel the attack and we will no longer have forewarning. No matter his motive, Finster has given us that much."

"But what about Ron?" Kim cut in a worry tone.

"Don't you think the _attack on the school_ is more important?" Brick said.

"Rangers," Zordon said, gaining their attention and silence effortlessly. Zordon seemed to take a breath before speaking. "What you have told us, Kim, is invaluable information in more than one way."

"Those are signs that he is trying to fight the spell," Zordon said. "I had a similar experience when he was attacking the Command Center. I was trying to talk to him and reach him, and he became emotional."

"So, then, what do we do?" Tara asked.

Zordon grew even graver. "That is exactly why I called this meeting. We can discuss plans for tomorrow's attack, but we first need to discuss what to do about Ron."

"What's there to discuss?" Josh said.

"Yeah," Brick said. "It's obvious what we have to do."

"Is it?" Zordon said. "Ron is unlike any enemy we have faced before. He is himself a victim of Rita's evil spell. However, he is no mindless zombie. Much of the plans lately have been of his own devising. After what happened this morning, I would not doubt if Ron was the one to suggest the school as the place of attack. Any plans to save Ron from the spell would be dangerous, both to you Rangers and to the surrounding civilians… and to Ron himself. The spell may prevent him from ever turning away from Rita. And part of his salvation must necessarily come from himself. He has to want to be saved enough to be saved."

"It's still obvious what we have to do," Brick said. "It's too dangerous. We gotta cut him loose."

Josh nodded. "That's right, we have to save him… what did you say?" His voice was tense and bewildered as he looked at Brick, who was looking at him with equal bewilderment.

"Now, wait a minute," Josh said, still staring at Brick. "What do you mean, 'we gotta cut him loose?' This from the same guy who risked everything to save me?"

"Yeah, well, he's not you," Brick said. "You're my best friend. You're one of us. Ron is…"

"Well, technically, he's a Power Ranger," Wade said. He seemed to be unable to contain himself any longer. "He's more like us than like any of Rita's minions."

Everyone glanced at Kim, who had been staring at the floor throughout the entire argument. She ignored everyone.

"Look," Tara said, "I'm not the biggest fan of Ron right now. He messed with my friends. He's really hurt all of us. But… he's being forced to. If it weren't for the spell, he wouldn't be like this."

"If we don't save him," Josh said, "what do you propose we do, Brick? Kill him?"

Brick glared at him. "No… of course not. We just need to take away his power coin."

"But why would he do that if he's evil?" Tara said. "That still necessitates us saving him."

"And what?" Brick said. "Ask him to join the team? Fight alongside the guy who almost killed Wade? Who attacked Middleton? I heard two dock workers got hurt, and one is in Intensive Care. Yeah, that's a guy I'd like on my side."

"Rangers," Zordon interrupted them when Josh looked like he was gearing up for another argument. "I knew this decision would not be a light one."

"Rangers, I am proud of you," Zordon said. "Ron salvation will be difficult, and he has given you no cause to help him."

And there it was. Ron was their friend. The thing they'd been struggling against was there in the open… and it was surprisingly easy to accept. They'd grown past vengeance or recriminations. Now, they were there to help a friend.

Josh smiled for the first time in what felt like months. "Now it's time to plan. The attack is tomorrow, and we have to be ready. We'll have to deal with Ron, Goldar, Scorpina, three monsters, lots of Putties, in a school building filled to the brim with students. "We'll have to protect everyone, defeat the monsters, help Ron, and all the while keep our identity safe."

Kim glanced around at her fellow Rangers. They are going to get her Ron back and break the spell. If there was anyone she knew who could achieve the impossible, it was all of them… together.


	12. Chapter 12 School Attack

"You nervous for tomorrow?"

Goldar shrugged. "Not nervous. Just… want to get this started."

Ron finished off his glass, stared at it in confusion, and plonked it down on the table. "I know what you mean. I'm totally not nervous. Never. That's the complete opposite from what I'm feeling…"

Goldar was laughing.

"Shut up," Ron said.

Goldar rolled his eyes, and he nearly lost his balance. "So, you're nervous, is that it? Don't worry… we've got too many fail-safes for anything to go wrong this time. And if it does, we'll just come up with something else. We always do."

Ron scraped his hair out of his face. "Guess you're right. And I'm _not_ nervous."

Only snores answered him. Goldar had slumped over the table, asleep.

Ron laughed softly. "Wish I could get that kinda rest," he said to himself.

He leaned back and stretched, figuring that it may be time to actually go and get some sleep himself. Tomorrow was a big day, and he didn't want to have to deal with Finster's scolding… not to mention being drowsy during the attack.

As Ron stumbled into the hallway, he ran into Scorpina, who then ran into a wall, giggling. They laughed and tried to hold each other upright.

Scorpina peeked into Goldar's room. The snores reverberated through the hallway. "Oh, damn," she said, almost boredly. "He's already asleep, and I'm as horny as hell."

Ron suddenly felt way too damn close to Scorpina. "Uh… sorry. I'm pretty beat myself…"

Scorpina was on him in a second. Her smell filled Ron's nostrils, and between the drink and her demanding kisses, he felt himself give in, caring less and less that a very jealous boyfriend lay snoring mere feet from where they were.

Scorpina pulled back, smirking at Ron's dazed expression. "Come on… we'll find someplace more comfortable."

Ron felt himself dragged to his own bedroom. A fleeting picture of Kim entered his mind, moaning into his mouth—but he shoved the image away.

* * *

"Kim? You okay?"

Kim was sitting on her bed. She'd been staring into space for what she thought was a few minutes, but Tara was already out of the shower and shoving clothes off Kim day bed.

"Sorry," Kim said. "I'm totally fine… really."

Kim sighed. "I really wish I felt better about tomorrow." She pulled her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs, partially hiding her face. Her mind whirled with the plans they had made all evening, the strategies she could now recite in her sleep… if she felt she could ever get to sleep.

Tara smiled. "We're going to be fine. We've never been this prepared for a… test."

The two knew they couldn't be more specific than that. Much as it creeped Kim out, Rita had the ability to spy on them even at night in their rooms… though Wade, intrigued by Finster's ability to mask surroundings from surveillance, was determined to study on how to protect at least their houses from surveillance.

Tara lowered her voice to a whisper. "Is this about Ron?"

"Of course it is," Kim said, her voice low. "I mean… what if he doesn't want to be saved? What if we can't? What do we do then?"

"Or what if we do save him?" Tara said. "I can't help but think you're more worried about that."

Kim flopped down onto her bed and grabbed a pillow, hugging it. "It's not that I don't want to save him. He's in danger. It's horrible what they're doing to him. But… What about after? How is he going to be?" Kim looked miserably at Tara. "What if he doesn't like me? What if… he does?"

Kim hugged her pillow tighter. "That's just it. How can I trust him… ever? I mean, after what he did at the gym? And him and that Scorpina chick all over each other."

"From what Josh said, Scorpina is more into Goldar than Ron," Tara replied. "So I don't think that's anything you have to worry about."

"Scorpina and… Goldar?" Kim said.

Kim and Tara stared at each other. "Ewwww." They laughed, the tension broken a bit.

"Kim, I don't know what's going to happen," Tara said, pulling herself under the covers. "When we save him—and, yes, I say 'when'—we'll figure everything out. A lot will depend on Ron… what he wants to do. You realize that he may be wracked with guilt to the point of being suicidal. I mean, really. If you knew you'd done all the things that he's done… how would you react?"

Kim lay down, pulling the covers to her chin. "I guess it just depends on my best friend."

* * *

The day was beautiful as the five teens straggled into the school, holding bookbags that were rather bulkier than usual. They were tense and only distractedly acknowledged any friendly greetings.

"All right," Josh mumbled to the others. "We all stay on the alert. Once everything goes down, we'll get into position."

"Yeah, okay," Brick said irritably. "We all know the play. We also need to stop acting like we expect an attack, don't you think?"

Without a word, the Rangers dispersed to their lockers and classrooms. They nervously pulled at the collars and sleeves, hoping nothing would show under their clothes. It was a shame the day was so beautiful and warm, for they'd had to wear long sleeves and higher collars… to hide the fact that they were morphed. Their pants' legs drug the ground, hiding their white boots, and their helmets and gloves were stuffed into their bookbags. Otherwise, they looked completely normal and grew to look even more normal as they got used to the odd feeling of being morphed with clothes over their costumes.

Rita was planning on ambushing them… taking them unawares. They had their own ambush set up.

* * *

Ron tried not to fidget as he sat on the table in Finster's lab. It was an hour until the attack, and Finster insisted on checking his health before he set foot on the battlefield. It felt completely unnecessary, though, and Ron knocked his feet against the legs of the table in impatience.

Finster clucked his tongue. "Now, Ron. They're not going off to war without you."

Ron stilled his feet. "I honestly wouldn't blame them if they did."

It was still difficult to tell Finster's facial expressions, but Ron was pretty sure Finster was smiling. "Now, there's no need for that. You've been doing an exemplary job on the battlefield. It wasn't your fault they had a de-morphing gun."

"I got hit," Ron said. "So, yeah, it was my fault… but thanks anyway."

Finster didn't respond. He hummed to himself aimlessly as he worked.

Ron brushed his hair out of his face, still trying to sort out completely what had happened the night before. Drinking… lots of drinking. What he was left with was disjointed yet vivid images of Scorpina. She'd been gone when he woke up, and that was definitely for the best. Still… he didn't know what to think about it. Were they just never going to mention it again?

Suddenly, Finster set everything down with a sigh. "All right, Ron, you check out fine. You may go."

"Thanks a lot, Finster!" Ron hopped off the table, eager to stop thinking about Scorpina and get to the throne room. Empress Rita wanted one last rundown of the attack before they teleported down. "See ya later!" he said with a wave.

Finster watched him go. "I hope not, Ron," he whispered.

Ron bounded into the throne room, the first to arrive. Only Empress Rita was there, staring avidly into her telescope.

"Ah, Ron… good," she said, not looking up. "The Rangers are in optimal position. I've just called everyone… they should be here in a minute. We've moved up the attack."

"Oh… okay, Empress," Ron said, trying not to sound nervous.

Empress Rita looked up at the sound of his voice and looked straight into his eyes. Again, that inexplicable connection made its presence known, and Ron got the feeling Empress Rita could read his mind. She could, he knew. He had no secrets from her… and his doubts were just as clear to her as his loyalty was. But all the doubts were about himself… not her. Never her.

Empress Rita smiled. "Ron… I know this has been a difficult few days. And I know you've been doing the best you can. Perhaps I was a bit hard on you. I was angry, and I tend to overreact when I'm angry. I was disappointed… in the attack. Not in you."

Ron shifted. "Empress, I didn't think you overreacted. You were right. My plans failed." Ron suddenly wished he could look away from her eyes so as to hide his shame. "The Rangers are… more resilient than I thought."

Empress Rita surprised Ron by laughing. "My dear Ron, they always are. That's why we're hitting them so hard this time." Her eyes seemed to burn with determination. "And we _will_ defeat them this time. We have the element of surprise on our side again, but this time we won't allow them time to recover. And, of course, we also have the Dragonzord. You were winning, Ron, and you will win again."

Empress Rita's smile softened. "Ron… my Green Ranger… you never failed me."

A sudden tromping of many feet, and Ron moved away from her. He didn't want to share this with anyone. The room filled, Goldar and Scorpina greeting him excitedly. He suddenly didn't know where to stand. Far away from the monsters as possible, of course, but then he felt itchy around both Goldar and Scorpina… for obvious reasons. He was now sure Scorpina wouldn't mention the night before ever again. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that, either.

"Is it true?" Scorpina said. "Did she move up the attack?"

Ron smiled casually. "She may have…"

Empress Rita walked to the center of the room, commanding immediate attention and silence. "It's time," she said. She was grinning so hard it looked like her face would break. "Goldar's leading the attack this time, though I expect both Scorpina and Ron to lead in their sectors of the school." She paced the room, looking at them all in turn and ending with Goldar. "All right, Goldar, the team is yours."

Goldar moved forward, pulling all attention toward him. "All right, everyone. Remember: monsters guard the entrance. Pick off the Rangers one at a time, and keep them around people. Keep them from morphing." Goldar raised his sword. "To victory!"

Ron yelled along with the others and prepared to morph. No matter his doubts, no matter the mixed feelings, no matter what would happen that day, Ron felt completely at peace.

* * *

Josh tapped his pencil against his desk, ignoring the annoyed looks. It was only second period, but he felt like he'd been in school for hours. He'd heard nothing any of the teachers had said, and he kept his head down so no one would call on him. He just couldn't stand the suspense. God, what if they waited until after lunch? Or last period? Would it have killed Finster to give them a more accurate timeframe?

A yell in the hallway, and Josh broke his pencil. He smiled grimly. It was happening, finally. Confirming his suspicion, he communicator buzzed lightly: the signal.

Ignoring the yells from the history teacher, the class surged up as one to see what was happening in the hallway—the rubbernecking tendency they'd realized would be the most dangerous factor. Josh pushed his way to the front and ducked out. "I'm gonna see what's going on!" he yelled. As planned, a force field slammed down behind him, blocking the door and barring the students into the classroom. If any baddies infiltrated the room, or any of the classrooms, Alpha was ready to teleport all the civilians to a safe location.

Josh slowly made his way along the edge of the main hallway, primed for anything. There'd been the yell, but everything was quiet now. Only indignant protests from the trapped students in the classrooms.

Something gray flashed in the corner of Josh's eye, and he lashed out, landing a solid hit on a Putty. He briefly wondered if this was the Putty he'd talked to the day before. If it was, there was no personality or recognition, so Josh shoved the thought to the back of his mind and concentrated on fighting. It was odd, having morphed strength but fighting without his helmet. It took only a few blows and the Putty was down.

But there were more to come. Josh fought discreetly, senses primed for the main monster in this section. A gravelly laugh boomed through the corridor. He bit back a curse. It just_had_ to be Goldar, didn't it?

Josh ducked into an empty, dark classroom. Putties followed him, and Josh realized that their plan to be morphed in disguise probably saved his life. There were more Putties than he had ever faced, and if he hadn't been morphed they could have overpowered him. As it was, he could fight them off easily. Once he was clear of the last, he yelled, "Back to action!" He smiled as his clothes dissolved and his helmet and gloves formed magically around him. He'd already been in action. That was the surprise.

"What the hell is going on?" Josh heard Goldar yell.

Josh kicked a Putty hard, and it flew out of the classroom and landed hard on a section of lockers, leaving a sizeable dent. Josh followed the Putty out, casually dusting off his hands. "Morning, Goldar. You wantin' to transfer here, cuz I don't think this school takes giant space alien monkeys."

Goldar grinned. "Red Ranger… nice to see you in the land of the living. Run into any swords lately?"

Josh's eye twitched, but the helmet hid that from Goldar. "You know, I usually don't fall in with the whole 'revenge' thing, but I've just been dying to take you on again… in an even match." He kept his voice light, and he played the dialogue they'd discussed. One of their prime rules was to misdirect as much as possible. Keep Rita or anyone else from thinking that they main goal was to save Ron.

* * *

Tara and Kim dashed out of art class as soon as their communicators buzzed. They didn't even need that as a warning. The art room had several large windows to the hallway, giving them an excellent view of the herd of Putties roaming the hallway.

"Split?" Tara muttered as the Putties surrounded them in the hallway.

Kim nodded. "Remember, in front of civilians we're panicky girly-girls."

They launched themselves in opposite directions. The most important thing right now was to lead the fight away from the art class. They had a force field over the door, but they didn't have enough energy to field in the large windows.

Tara only saw just in time a sword flying right at her head. Using the increased speed and reflexes her morphed state afforded her, she ducked and rolled under the sword. It embedded in a row of lockers. Scorpina was there in an instant, attacking Tara with deadly force. Tara let herself be hit, and the force of the blow knocked her into a broom closet. She smiled at Scorpina's shock when she emerged from the closet fully morphed.

"You Rangers are full of surprises," Scorpina said, sounding a bit off-balance.

"Thankfully," Tara said, "you villains are rather predictable." She drew her Power Daggers and ran at Scorpina, who ducked quickly behind some Putties. But Tara knocked the Putties down in short order and again attacked Scorpina. This time, Scorpina seemed ready for her.

Tara remembered their first fight and how Scorpina had seemed unstoppable. She was still strong and fast, stronger especially than Tara or any of the other Rangers. But Tara fought smart, making moves that didn't make any sense in battle… if winning was the objective. And of course winning wasn't the objective now. They just had to get them all in one place.

Tara hoped the others were holding up. She hated being separated like this.

Scorpina recovered her sword and flourished it. "You know, I make fun of the boys with their weapons fetish, but just between us girls, there's just something about a sword. Makes you feel all powerful." She smirked at Tara's daggers. "I guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

Tara rolled her eyes. "You know, you're just really messed up. Why is everything a sex thing to you?"

Scorpina lunged as she said this, and Tara rolled and kicked. "Everything's not a sex thing to me," Scorpina complained. She punched Tara hard in the stomach. "Sometimes it's about violence."

"No, really," Tara gasped. The force of the blow wasn't too bad, but stomach blows were dangerous in and of themselves. "You're going out with Goldar. And Ron fifteen and you're, what… old as hell?"

Tara wanted, of course, to piss Scorpina off and make her easy to manage. She was disappointed, though, as Scorpina smirked harder. "A little experience never hurt anyone. Ron wasn't hurt last night… I don't think, anyway."

Tara felt her stomach drop to her knees. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Scorpina shrugged. "Figure it out for yourself." And with that she attacked in earnest, and Tara could spare no more thoughts or words for her suspicions.

* * *

"Oh, God, what are we gonna do?" a high-pitched voice whimpered.

Brick ground his teeth in frustration. "You could shut up, for one," he whispered.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…"

"_Shut up!_"

Brick peeked around the corner at the group of Putties. They were searching around, trying to find people and get into the secure classrooms. There was still no sign of any monsters.

Behind him, Ned and Reger cowered, clinging to each other. They had been the first out of the classroom, beating even Brick. Brick had tried to get them to an isolated space, but they clung to him close, and Brick couldn't act until he got rid of them.

"Listen, guys," Brick said. "I'm gonna lead those things away from the classroom."

"How the hell are you going to do that?" Ned said.

"I'll run like hell. Anyway, you guys find a way out of the school. Take anyone you find in the hallways with you." Brick tensed himself, ready to take a sprint at the group of Putties and hoping he wasn't sending Ned and Reger to their dooms.

"No way, man," Ned said.

Ned nodded. "That's a surefire way to get attacked by aliens. We need to stick together. We're going with you."

He had to hand it to them, Brick thought. That really was a good strategy… if Brick wasn't a _Power Ranger_ and had to get away from them to get in costume. "Okay," Brick muttered. "Just stay close behind me. We're gonna run through those Putties and get them to chase us." He hoped this stupid plan—stupid for civilians, at least—would scare Ned and Reget away.

They _did_ look completely terrified, but Bulk nodded grimly. Damn, Brick thought. Why did they have to choose right _now_ to be all heroic?

Brick launched himself from their hiding place, Ned and Reger close behind. The Putties looked over at them in surprise, and Brick just kept barreling through. He aimed for the least dense gathering of Putties, preparing to shove as many of them away to protecting the nerds. Brick was about to congratulate them as they broke free of the Putties when he saw something that made him freeze. Ned and Reger knocked into him, and would have knocked him to the ground if he hadn't been morphed.

"Wh-wh-wh-what…" Ned whispered, "is that?"

One look and Brick knew it was the monster. It was staring at them, dressed in bright colors and bells. It's face was white with a horrific red smile painted on it. It was making balloon animals, with the attendant horrible squelchy rubbery sound, and it was chuckling madly.

"I think," Brick said, "it's an eight-foot-tall, clown monster. Or it could just be a normal clown."

"Either way, I'm getting the hell out of here," Reger said, his voice hollow in terror.

The clown monster looked up at the sound. "Everything floats," it said.

Ned and Reger screamed and ran back down the hallway, knocking down Putties in their haste and utter terror. And Brick wished he could join them, for once.

He stared at the clown monster. It stared back. Brick realized he had no time to fool around with trying to find a hiding place or anything like that. He checked quickly to see if he was well and truly away from prying eyes and yelled, "Back to action!"

"Awww…" the clown monster said. "You're not colorful at all! I'll have to add some beautiful red to your costume."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Brick asked tightly.

The clown's grin grew wider, seeming to split his face. "I'll cut your limbs off and use them as paintbrushes."

Brick stared at the monster, trying to process what he'd just heard. "Okay, that's _not cool_! This time you've gone too far, Rita. I mean… that is just _sick_!"

As Brick expected, Rita did not respond. Instead, the monster danced toward him, his oversized feet mysteriously balancing on the small staircase. Brick steeled himself to fight, wishing he could fight _any_monster but this one.

"It's a bear! It's a bear!"

He heard Ned and Reger screams come back through the hallway. They were running from a bear in a pith helmet. Brick and the clown monster watched them pass.

"Was that a freakin' bear?" Brick said.

The clown monster sounded almost bored. "It's the Grizzlinator."

"Riiigggghhhht," Brick said. "Look, let's just fight already."

The clown monster was only too happy to oblige.

* * *

"Okay… good bear. _Nice_ bear," Kim said.

She backed away, shielding a group of cheerleaders and Monquie behind her. They were apparently here for a cheerleading practice, and Kim had completely forgotten. She hadn't even had the chance to morph. She'd been with them ever since leaving art class.

"Aren't we supposed to drop and play dead or something?" Hope behind her whimpered.

"I think it's a bit late for that," Kim said.

Finally, Kim couldn't take it any longer. She would just have to reveal her strength, damn the consequences. There were lives at stake, after all.

"Hey! HEY! Bear!" a voice from down the hallway yelled.

"Yeah… HEY, BEAR!" another voice echoed.

The bear miraculously turned and ambled toward them. They began to run. "Get them out of here, Boonie!" Kim said over her shoulder.

Kim hugged the wall to let them pass. She pulled back one fist and broke the glass to a fire extinguisher, and in one smooth movement she pulled it out and sprayed it directly in the bear's face. The pith helmet flew off. It faltered, roaring and rubbing its face against the ground. As hard as she could, she brought the fire extinguisher down on top of the bear's head. It slumped and actually began snoring.

She led them away from where she knew there were battles going on. They edged forward, extra cautious of Putties or any other monsters.

"Look! An unguarded exit!" Hope crowed, and ran for it. Bonnie followed, and Kim fell back. She could exit the building, lose her cheerleader team, finally morph all the way, and get back in to the rendezvous point.

They'd almost crossed the threshold when Putties were everywhere, blocking the exit and the hallway behind them Monquie and Bonnie looked frozen in terror. Kim put her guard up, again deciding that protecting all of them was more important than keeping her identity.

Monquie screamed and pointed behind her, but Kim didn't have time to turn around. She felt a blinding pain, and all went dark.

The Green Ranger caught her with one arm. He held his power gun in the other. She hung in the Green Ranger's arms.

"You've _killed_ her!" Monquie screamed. Bonnie looked furious, but she held Monquie back. She was ready to attack the Green Ranger.

The Green Ranger laughed. "Calm down… she's still breathing. Now… stay out of our way, if you know what's good for cheerleader here."

The Green Ranger picked Kim up and jerked his head toward the Putties. "Come on, I think I know where everyone's going."

Monquie and Bonnie hung back, frozen.

"What is he going to do with Kim?"Bonnie whispered.

Bonnie slumped against a locker. "After what he did to Wade?" she said in a broken voice.

Monquie gritted her teeth. "The Power Rangers will save her. They _have_ to."

Author notes please review. Thank you guys for all the reviews.


	13. Chapter 13 Battle

Rita smiled over her glass of wine and set it aside. She pressed her eye to the telescope, watching the scene play out. Already, she could see that the Rangers had some prior knowledge of the attack, but her warriors were coping with the additional obstacles. Especially Ron; Goldar had wisely ordered him to put off morphing and do some recon. And Ron was handling the situation spectacularly. He now had the Pink Ranger incapacitated, as well as the power source for the force fields the Rangers were relying so heavily upon.

She could finally see how her warriors could achieve victory. They had become the perfect team over the past few battles. They had formed a sort of camaraderie so important in these fights. Goldar acted as a blunt instrument, fighting the best of the Rangers, Josh, and keeping him from coordinating the battle, whereas Goldar could coordinate with ease. Scorpina provided the ferocity and crazy, ripping through her opponents with wild joy. Already she was wearing the Yellow Ranger down, slowly but surely. The monsters provided mayhem. And Ron…

Ron was the trickiest and most dangerous of them all. He was smart… smarter than any of them. He was a born strategist and leader, and he could work in a group. He was a better actor than Rita could have hoped for, turning on a dime whenever he needed to fool someone with his handsome face and innocent eyes. No wonder the Rangers had been so completely taken in… until Ron had purposefully revealed his identity. Ron was clever and manipulative, but he didn't look it. He looked like one of the good guys, and that would serve him well.

The Earth's destruction was finally right in her fingertips, and she knew right then she wanted to keep her team together. She would keep Scorpina on retainer as long as Scorpina was willing. Perhaps she and Goldar would arrange a more permanent relationship; that would make things simpler.

As for Ron… he would lose everything, of course. She had to plan to protect his mind against the loss of his planet and, more importantly, his father. It would take time for him to recover, of course, but she was prepared to take responsibility for him.

Rita smiled at the odd train of thought. It was as if… Ron was her son. She couldn't help but think of him like that. He deeply cared for her in a way that surpassed a mere mind control spell. He was fierce, courageous, smart, and deeply loyal. And he had so much potential for greatness. He was everything she could want in a son.

He _would_ be her son, she decided. She had already practically adopted him, and he would be orphaned once the Earth was destroyed. He would become her son and heir, and she would raise him to become the brilliant warrior she knew he was destined to be. She knew of some good schools he could attend…

Rita shook her head violently and took a gulp of wine. She was thinking ahead too much, when the battle was barely even begun. There was still work to do. Any future plans for Ron could wait.

"Finster, would you mind stepping into the throne room for a minute?" Rita said, and took a more conservative sip of wine.

Finster hurried into the throne room, looking harassed. "Empress, it seems the Grizzlinator is incapacitated at present. Don't worry; he will revive soon."

"That doesn't worry me, Finster," Rita said, still staring into the telescope. "What worries me is that the Rangers appear to have had prior knowledge of the attack. Now, how do you think they achieved that feat?"

Finster looked startled. "I… do not know, my Queen."

Rita pulled her eyes away from the telescope. "Come, Finster, isn't it obvious?"

Finster stared at Rita, looking cautious and a bit scared. "I… I have been overwrought with the monsters, my Queen. Forgive me if I am a bit slow at this time."

Rita rolled her eyes. "Finster, I wish you to do a scan of the castle, especially centering around the throne room. Obviously, before he was captured, the Red Ranger planted a surveillance device that did not trip our security. I want that device found and destroyed. God, for a genius, you can be so slow sometimes."

Finster bowed. "Of course, my Queen. I will begin the scan immediately. So sorry for my slowness."

Rita was already ignoring him. She turned her attention back to the battle, determined to enjoy every minute of it now _that_ worry was over.

As Finster left, she grabbed the side of her balcony. A wave of nausea hit her. She pulled her attention closer to the battle, focusing her slowly-draining energy. Finster had said she would be able to handle the three monsters. And she'd be damned if she proved weaker than Finster's estimation.

In the meantime, Finster hurried through his lab, cobbling together a machine to look like it was planted by the Red Ranger. He only hoped the Rangers went along with Rita's story if it came to that. His life depended on it. While he was certainly close to Empress Rita—he had served her faithfully for centuries—she was also emotionally unbalanced by the spell. Anyone coming between her and Ron would be in considerable danger, no matter what their prior relationship to her.

Finster felt a pang of guilt for dumping the problem on the Power Rangers. But they were in danger all the time, he reflected, and if they died it would be no great loss. It would, in fact, be a victory.

* * *

The gym: far away from most of the classrooms, and there were no P.E. classes, team meetings, or any functions whatsoever. Mr. Barken himself had cancelled all those and had discreetly locked the gym doors. Of course, one strategic dodge of Goldar's sword thrust burst the doors open, and the battle between Josh and Goldar clattered naturally into the echoing gym. Just as Josh had planned.

Goldar looked wildly around. "What _is_ this place?"

"Basketball court," Josh remarked casually. He smirked when he saw that it was a bit harder for Goldar to keep his footing on the slick floor. Josh shot a leg out and tripped the huge warrior, who couldn't catch his fall. He landed with a thud. Josh leaned over him, preparing to try to punch his lights out, when beams erupted from Goldar's eyes, throwing Jason back. Goldar flipped back onto his feet and seemed to become acclimated to the new surface.

Goldar and Josh were the first there, but they weren't alone for long. Through the door on the far wall, Tara ran in, Scorpina hard on her heels. They fought for a while, on separate ends of the gym, before Goldar and Scorpina fully realized they were in the same room. As they made this realization, a deafening _CRACK_shattered the air, and Wade was thrown into the room. The assembled combatants pulled themselves off the ground, recovering from the audio attack, as a blue monster floated into the room.

The two fighting sides quickly joined each other. Josh, Wade, and Tara all had a few scorch marks on their costumes, but nothing serious. Scorpina had a cut lip, and Goldar was breathing hard from trying to keep up with Josh.

"Well," Scorpina said, wiping the blood from her lip, "this is all oddly convenient."

"Funny how things work out," Tara said lightly.

A third set of doors flew open, and Brick bounded in, a multi-colored… something… flung over his shoulder. "Aw, man, has the party already started without me?"

"Just in time," Josh greeted him jovially. "We were about to take apart these guys, but it looks like you're ahead of us."

Brick shrugged the body off his shoulder. "This guy? He's creepy, but he couldn't keep up."

"Brick," Wade said, "is that a giant clown monster?" Brick nodded. "I take it back," Wade said. "You got the worst monster."

"Nah, man, you should have seen the Grizzlinator."

"One down," Scorpina whispered wryly.

"We still match them in number," Goldar said. "They don't have a prayer."

Josh overheard and laughed. "Goldar… man… have you been paying attention? You've been at our mercy since the beginning of the attack. We've been controlling this entire battle. You're_here_ because we planned it. The civilians are all protected from you, and you can't do a thing about it."

Goldar growled, and Josh exulted a bit in his frustration.

"This may be an indication that any further attempts at hostilities will be futile and potentially detrimental on your part," Wade said.

Tara smirked behind her helmet. "He means… get the heck out of here if you know what's good for you."

Scorpina tossed her head. "I wouldn't be so cocky. You haven't won yet, Rangers."

Brick threw the clown monster at their feet. "You're down a monster… and you seem to be down a certain Green Ranger. What, did he get scared?"

"I'm right here," a quiet voice came from the entrance Tara and Scorpina had used.

Jason looked over at Ron… and then froze. He felt the other Rangers around him stiffen. Tara whispered, "No," only audible to Josh, who was right beside her.

Goldar looked ten times more cheerful. "Green Ranger, good of you to join the party."

"And I brought party favors for everyone," Ron said. He adjusted the unconscious Kim in his arms. "This, Rangers, is why we wear helmets. Head injuries can be brutal."

Brick started forward, but Josh held him back with one arm. "If she's hurt…" Josh said in a strangled voice.

Ron continued his cheerful tone, ignoring the waves of anger from the Rangers. "She's not hurt… I don't think. She's alive, anyway, and she's in for a hell of a headache. And she's no longer morphed, if you're interested. You realize, guys," he turned his attention to his comrades, "that they were morphed under their clothes before the attack even happened?"

Silence fell.

"They knew we were coming," Goldar said thoughtfully.

Ron nodded. "They _knew_ we were coming," he said emphatically.

Scorpina frowned. "Well, that presents a whole new range of problems. I thought you people had good security," she stared accusingly at Goldar.

Goldar ignored her, however. He seemed to be concentrating on something, and then his eyes lit up. "Of course… clever, Red Ranger. The device you planted in the throne room has been found, by the way. And destroyed."

Josh blinked, and was suddenly glad his face was covered by a mask. This was either a lie concocted by Finster, or… Well, of course it was a lie concocted by Finster. He was more in danger than they for "betraying" his mistress. Josh shrugged. "So you destroyed it. It stayed hidden long enough and we got what we wanted from it, anyway. And Ron…" Josh turned a glare toward the Green Ranger, "you're going to hand Kim back. Right now."

Ron laughed. "It's good that you're optimistic. It's so easy to get bitter when you're losing."

"You can't do anything to harm her," Wade said. "If I remember correctly, you screamed your head off the last time you tried?"

Ron didn't seem to react. "That was then. I thought this time I'd play with her for a while. Think she'd last as long as you did, Blue?"

Scorpina cleared her throat. "Much as I _love_ all this male posturing and all," she said boredly, "I can't help but feel that we're spending a whole bunch of time standing around and_talking_. Can we do something already?"

"I don't think the Rangers will want to oblige you, Scorpina," Goldar said, "as long as their princess is in danger."

Ron laughed again. "Oh, yeah. I _almost_ forgot. I've got the perfect thing to liven things up." He held up the generator, and the Rangers started involuntarily forward. But while Ron had Kim in his arms, they could do nothing. She was too vulnerable.

Scorpina raised her eyebrows. "Yeah… that's wonderful. Weee, I'm having so much fun, I want to die," she said in a dull voice.

"If you'll let me finish," Ron said testily, "I could tell you that this handy little device is exactly what's keeping the force fields going on the classrooms."

"Suddenly interested," Scorpina said.

Josh sighed. "Okay, Ron, what's it going to take to get both Kim and the generator back?"

Goldar grinned. The odds in their favor were just getting better and better. "Red Ranger, you seem to be under the impression that we actually want anything. We don't. We just want mayhem. But we can give you a choice… You can either have back your precious Kim, or the generator. It's up to you."

By now Goldar, Scorpina, and Pop Star had moved over to join Ron, giving him and his hostages added protection. Josh stared at them, trying to figure out a way to rescue Kimberly and keep the civilians safe. But there was no way. The tides had shifted so quickly that Josh was having trouble keeping up.

Josh took a breath, feeling as if something slimy had crawled inside him even as he said it. "Give us back the generator."

The Rangers did not react outwardly, but the statement was treated to peals of wild laughter from the villains.

"Listen to Red, there," Ron laughed. "And after all the effort they put into saving _him_."

Goldar chortled. "Throw him the generator, Ron, if it means that much to him."

Ron lobbed the generator into the air. Josh reached out to catch it…

A curved sword flashed through the air, shattering the generator in midair. The sword arced back, and Scorpina caught it. "I decided that was boring. Mayhem is much more fun."

"A woman after my own heart," Goldar crowed. "Let's go chase us some teenagers!"

The four villains ran out of the gym. Screams announced the end of the force fields, as Putties stormed the classrooms.

Wade was the first to react. He tapped his communicator frantically. "Alpha, we need emergency teleportation of all civilians."

Alpha's voice from the tiny speaker sounded frantic. "I worked as fast as I could, Wade! I was able to get three-quarters of the school out, but now our teleportation signal is being blocked. I can't even teleport Kim out."

"Dammit!" Brick screamed.

Josh was still seething from the recent mockery. "All right, gang. Until Kim and the civilians are safe, the plan is off. We can't afford to worry over Ron right now. We split, cover our sections, and get the civilians out of the building."

If anyone had any objections, no one voiced them.

* * *

In the first few minutes of this second wave of battle, the students and faculty outnumbered the Putties, who stumbled back as a crowd of about a hundred ran for the doors. The Putties recovered, though, and the forty remaining students were no match for the stronger Putties. They ran from exit to exit in small groups, chased and terrorized at every step.

Pop Star, warned off from using the sonic attack by Goldar, zipped around the hallways in bursts of speed, playing a game of cat and mouse with a group of senior football players.

Goldar and Scorpina refrained from attacking but instead herded the students away from the exits toward the center of the school. Goldar knew the Rangers would become too angry to handle if they actually hurt any of the students at this point, but he knew his appearance and sword was enough to scare the humans out of their wits.

The most fearful sight, though, was the Green Ranger. He'd slung Kim over one shoulder and had his blade blaster in the other hand. He made sure not to aim at anyone, but he blasted the shit out of the lockers and classrooms, rooting out any students who had decided to hide. Smoke and debris filled the school as it become more and more like an actual battlefield.

Unnoticed by anyone, the Grizzlinator finally woke up and began to wander about groggily. He seemed entirely uninterested in battle, though; he chose to lie down again right in front of an exit, effectively guarding it and allowing the Putties to join in the battle. The Grizzlinator licked his paws.

Goldar and Ron met in the middle of the main hallway, each chasing in a group of students. As per their original plan, the Putties surrounded the trapped students, threatening them into scared silence.

"Soon as we get everyone assembled," Goldar said quietly, "you take them up to the roof. Leave the Rangers to me and Scorpina."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I remember the plan."

Goldar ignored the teenager's tone. "Good job, by the way."

They were interrupted by Scorpina and Pop Star, herding in more students. "This is the last of them," Scorpina said hastily, "and the Rangers are on their way. We need to move!"

"All right, everyone!" Ron bellowed, pointing his blaster threateningly. "Everyone up those stairs nice and peacable, or Ms. Cheerleader here gets it!" He cocked his head. "And she'll just be the first."

Monqiue pushed herself to the front of the crowd. She had the same wild fury in her eyes. "Don't you dare hurt her, you bastard!"

Ron followed them. Before he ascended the stairs, he pulled out a potion bottle and poured it over the entrance. In a few seconds, the entrance to the staircase was filled with a noxious green gas. Ron ran up the stairs, knowing even his Ranger helmet could not protect him from the poison.

* * *

By the time the Rangers got there, the students were completely gone. Goldar and Scorpina waited for them, smirking.

"They went up there!" Tara yelled, and began running for the staircase.

Wade grabbed her arm. "Don't go up there… I don't like the look of that gas."

"That's because you're smart," Scorpina said. "It's quite poisonous."

Josh turned to the pair of warriors. "What have you done with them? What's your plan?"

Goldar laughed. "You know, Ron _is_ smarter than you. He didn't need _any_ help to figure out your plans."

Josh gritted his teeth but said nothing, refusing to rise to the bait.

"Should we tell them?" Scorpina said, practically bouncing in excitement.

Goldar seemed to consider. "Oh, I suppose."

Scorpina grinned widely. "We're going to turn them all into_monsters_. All the students, I mean. It was going to be, like, hundreds of monsters, but I think forty is enough… don't you think?"

So horrified was he that Josh couldn't think of a way to respond.

Brick could. "That's just _sick_, even for Rita!"

"Sick but effective," Goldar said. "The transformation will be complete in fifteen minutes, so you have that much time to defeat us and get the students off the room." Goldar smirked. "Think you can make it?"

As one, the Rangers attacked; Goldar and Scorpina laughed wildly as they met the attacks with equal ferocity.

* * *

"All right, Putties," Ron said, "get this set up. We don't have all day."

Ron marveled as the Putties, programmed for the job by Finster, expertly set up the device. Once activated, it would transform every unmorphed human on the roof into a monster. "And that includes you, Kimmy," he whispered.

He put Kim down—finally—and rubbed his shoulder. While she wasn't heavy at all, especially when he was morphed, he'd been holding her for a long time while carrying on with the battle. He brushed her hair out of her face. She showed no signs of waking up. It was a shame, really, that she would become a monster. She really was beautiful.

Ron shook his head roughly. "Anyway, none of you have to worry about anything for long. So just sit tight. And if anyone tries to be a hero."

Ron edged over to the roof and peeked over the raised ledge. He propped a foot on the ledge to get a better look. The others would want to vacate the building soon; as the roof, along with the rest of the building, would be destroyed in the collective transformations. He himself would want to get the hell out of the way so as not to get crushed. For the moment, though, he followed orders and stood guard.

He clenched a fist. It wasn't fair, though. He was just itching for a fight. He had yet to have a real fight with the Red Ranger, and it looked like Goldar would hog the fight all to himself.

* * *

Goldar and Scorpina allowed themselves to be pushed back by the ferocity of the Rangers' attacks, knowing they would have to leave the building soon. None of the Rangers even commented on the absence of Pop Star. They were too intent on beating Goldar and Scorpina into a bloody pulp.

Tara and Wade paired off against Scorpina. Scorpina had to strain to keep up with them, as she had already fought for practically an hour against Trini. Her fighting wasn't as tight as usual, and the two Rangers seemed to sense it and pressed their advantage as hard as they could.

Scorpina thrust her sword at Tara, who dodged. Before Scorpina could recover, Wade stepped on her sword, pinning it to the ground, and kicked her in the face. Scorpina fell over backwards and had to roll quickly to avoid a well-aimed dagger thrust from Trini.

"All right, that's _it_," Scorpina growled. In a flash of light, she transformed. The sudden burst of power was just what she needed, and the two Rangers looked like they were moving in slow motion. She lashed out with her stinger as the Blue and Yellow Rangers lunged for her. The stinger connected, and Wade and Tara shot through the air, past the Grizzlinator, and landed outside near the faculty parking lot. Scorpina grinned, an unrecognizable expression now she was in her bug form, and ran after them.

In the meantime, Josh and Brick were utterly absorbed in a fight with Goldar, who was showing a bit more endurance than his paramour. Goldar knocked aside more of their attacks, but he was no longer taunting them. He was dead serious this time.

"How long has it been?" Brick said through gritted teeth as he tried to deflect Goldar's sword with his Axe. The Axe did not give way, but Brick arms were starting to.

Josh aimed a sword thrust at Goldar's face, forcing him to parry and giving Brick a break. "Couldn't be more than five minutes," Josh panted. "We gotta hurry."

A flash of light caught the attention of the three combatants, and they looked up in time to see Wade and Tara sailing through the air. Goldar took advantage of the momentary distraction to slice viciously at Brick chest. He stumbled back, sparks flying, and Josh ran after him.

"You alright?" Josh said.

Brick staggered upward. "We can't leave Tara and Wade outside."

Goldar laughed. "By all means, let's continue this outside. This place is coming down once all your classmates are monsters, anyway." With that, Goldar ran for the exit, brushing past the sleeping Grizzlinator.

"Not if we can help it," Josh growled, and he and Brick gave chase.

Outside, Wade and Tara had recovered and were continuing the fight, taking advantage of the open space. Scorpina, however, was still too much for them, and now Goldar was joining the fight. Goldar kicked Wade hard, slamming him to the ground several feet away. Tara, Josh, and Brick ran to him, but he was already getting up, if a bit unsteadily.

"Rangers," Zordon's voice sounded urgently over their communicators.

"We're here, Zordon," Josh said, hoping their mentor would have good news.

Such was not the case. "Rita has unleashed the third monster, Pop Star, on downtown. It is at the rock quarry now, making its way to the city. It must be stopped immediately."

"So _that's_ where that thing got off to," Tara said.

"Be warned, Rangers," said Zordon. "She is trying to divide your forces and attention, just as we know her forces are divided."

"Great! A big old monster on top of everything else. I think we need a new strategy," Brick said.

"Agreed," Wade said, breathing hard.

Goldar and Scorpina seemed to be running out of patience. "Coffee breaks running a little long," Scorpina shouted at them.

Josh assessed the situation. They were all wearing down quickly, whereas Goldar and Scorpina seemed to have inexhaustible fonts of energy. In the meantime, a fairly deadly monster was rampaging toward the town, endangering much more than the forty students on the roof. On the other hand, if they didn't save the people on the roof, they'd have forty monsters on their hands.

He glanced up at the school's roof. Putties surrounded a device, and there was an impression of a group of people on top of the building. Near the device, the Green Ranger was at the edge of the building, leaning forward slightly to better watch the battle.

Josh grinned. He knew exactly what to do.

"Wade," he said quietly, "you need to find a way onto the roof. I can cover you. Trini, Brick, you get downtown and fight the monster."

"So what are you going to do?" Tara said.

Josh glanced over at the waiting villains. "Like I said, I'll cover Wade. I can fight Goldar and Scorpina."

"By _yourself_?" said Wade.

"That's a _lousy_ idea…" Brick started.

Josh held up a hand to silence them. "I know it's a lousy idea. It's also the only idea. Wade, do you have some of Tara's compound? We'll need Kim back in the fight as soon as possible."

Josh knew no one liked the idea, but they all nodded. Brick and Tara hit their communicators and vanished.

* * *

Brick and Tara called for their Zords as soon as they hit the outskirts of the city proper. Pop Star was walking slowly toward the city, obviously wanting to bait the Rangers more than it wanted to destroy the city. Sirens went off and a massive pilgrimage formed away from the city. Brick made sure to note the direction of the evacuation, as it was their job to lead the fight away from civilians.

"Don't call the MegaZord yet," Brick said. "Let's try and take that thing down with just our Zords."

"I'm with you." Tara sounded relieved. It had been difficult controlling the MegaZord with three people last time. It would be nearly impossible with just two people to fight effectively.

Brick boarded his Mastodon Zord, reflecting that he rarely ever had time to pilot the machine. He usually boarded and went straight into initiating the MegaZord sequence.

The monster looked calmly at the approaching Zords. Then it vanished.

"Where did it go?" Brick said.

"Behind you!"

Tara warning came too late. The monster had grabbed the tail of Brick Zord and pulled back with amazing speed. The Mastodon Zord slammed into a rock wall, and debris covered his Zord. Pop Star, however, was already on the move, this time smashing the Sabre-Tooth Tiger Zord viciously.

"Okay…" Brick said slowly. "Teamwork. Tara, I'll blast it with cold and you attack it with your laser-things."

Tara's voice was tight. "Do it quick. It hit one of my power centers. I need time to redirect the power flow."

Brick waited until Pop Star ran toward him, now not using its burst of speed… it possibly thought the Mastodon Zord was incapacitated. Brick waited until the monster was right in front of him, and then gave it a face-full of ice. The already-blue monster turned icy blue and stopped moving.

"Take that, you screwed-up Smurf," Brick crowed. "Now, Tara!"

Brick moved his Zord out of the way as Tara hit the monster with everything she had. The ice broke, and Pop Star fell in a shower of sparks. Its blue body was now marred with black scorch marks.

Instead of lying there, though, the monster jumped up with amazing elasticity. It didn't even look dazed.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat," Brick said quietly.

"Does that mean MegaZord?" said Tara, strain in her voice.

"Yeah." Brick started the sequence to call the other Zords. "Stay on your toes, Tara. I don't know when or if we're gonna get backup."

* * *

"Hey, they can't just leave," Scorpina whined as the two Rangers vanished.

Josh laughed, putting as much bravado as he could into his voice. "We're _more_ than enough to take down you chumps."

Scorpina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, do you good guys _never_give up? I could actually be doing something interesting, like filing my nails."

She was still in monster form. "You have nails…?" Wade said.

"Of course," Josh cut him off, "you guys don't have to fight. I'm sure there's someone just dying to join the battle. Right, Green Ranger?"

Attention turned to the roof, where Ron was calmly watching the fight-turned-standoff. "Leave me out of this. I'm just here to guard."

"And aren't you guys planning this to be the final battle, the final defeat of the Power Rangers?" Josh continued loudly. "Is this really how you want to contribute to the battle, _Green_? As a guard for some civilians? And I thought I could get a good fight out of you."

Even from where he was standing, Josh could tell he was striking a nerve. He knew Rom enough to know that the evil Ranger was raging at his own inactivity. In fact, from what he could understand, Tommy had not participated in a single fight yet.

"I guess you're afraid I'd just kick your ass like last time," Josh said, hoping Ron would come flying down at any moment. "It just must get to you, knowing that I beat you," Josh smirked, "with both arms tied behind my back."

Unfortunately, Ron's loyalty to Rita seemed to be winning over his urge to fight. "Believe what you want, Red," said Ron. "You're going to die soon anyway."

Josh cursed, trying to think of another plan… and then Ron fell.

For a wild second, Josh thought he had changed his mind and was launching himself into battle. But a second look showed that Ron had no control over his fall. His arms flailed as he tumbled off the building, already precarious from leaning over the side too far, one foot propped on the ledge around the building and his arm resting on his knee. The school building was five stories high, and while not life-threateningly tall, it wasn't a fall to be scoffed at. Ron fell hard on his side, and a crack filled the air that sounded suspiciously like human bone.

Everyone looked up sharply at the roof after Ron landed. Ned was standing where Ron had stood moments before, breathing hard. Putties surrounded him but didn't seem to know what to do with him.

Ron pulled his blade blaster and aimed at Ned. "I'll _kill_ you!" he screamed in a voice broken by pain and fury.

Josh was there in a second. He grabbed Ron hand and wrenched the blaster out of it. "You _won't_," he said, and kicked Ron hard on his injured arm. Ron screamed and rolled out of the way. He jumped to his feet and held his arm close to him. Josh realized with amazement that Ron was preparing to fight him.

"It's your funeral," said Josh, and he launched himself at Ron.

* * *

While the Red and Green Rangers were thus occupied, Wade, Scorpina, and Goldar looked at each other for an instant, finding it hard to assimilate what all had just happened. Wade came to his senses first and launched himself into the air, heading for the roof.

"Come on," Goldar growled at Scorpina. "We have to protect the device."

The two scaled the school building easily to find Wade up to his neck in fighting Putties. The students had backed as far away from the fight as they could; they moved the two injured teenagers as carefully as possible.

Wade hesitated. Putties were one thing, but Rita's two best warriors were quite another. And with Brick and Tara Zord-fighting in town, and Josh locked in combat with Ron, and Kim lying there on the ground unconscious…

The sight of Kim, lifeless for all Wade knew, was enough. Wade screamed inarticulately and attacked with a ferocity he didn't know he possessed. He concentrated on speed; Goldar had never been fast and Scorpina had slowed herself down with the transformation. They attacked with all their skill, but they couldn't seem to touch Wade.

Finally, Goldar threw wade to the ground. Wade lay there, panting and holding his chest. "You're never going to win," he said weakly, as if the attacks had drained all his energy.

Goldar laughed at the Blue Ranger's predicament. "It's been fun, Power Ranger, but you should have known you couldn't take us on by yourself."

"I guess you're right," Wade said, and he could hear gasps from watching students.

Goldar raised his sword high above his head, ready for the killing blow. "Say goodbye, Blue Ranger."

Wade waited until the tip of the sword was almost at his throat. He rolled out of the way and was bathed in a sea of sparks.

"NO!" Goldar screamed.

"What the hell did you do?" Scorpina shrieked.

Wade laughed at the two warriors, who gaped at the ruined device. Goldar's sword had sliced through its power supply and caused it to combust, ruining any chance of quick repair. "Something tells me that Rita's going to be pissed."

Goldar looked like he was about to attack Wade, but he stopped, looking in that way that Wade associated with changes in their orders. Apparently, Rita was communicating with him, and from Goldar's expression the communication wasn't good. "Revel in your minor victory now, Blue Ranger. You Rangers are far from safe." With that, Goldar and Scorpina disappeared in a flash of gold fire.

"Sour grapes," Wade muttered under his breath. As soon as the threat was gone, wade rushed to Kim side. She was still breathing. He pulled out a syringe and dosed her with their rapidly dwindling compound. Immediately, her eyes flew open.

"Is she alright?" said a Monquie.

In an instant, Kim understood she was still undercover. "Yeah… I'm alright now. Thanks, Blue Ranger."

"Don't mention it," Wade said. He turned his attention to the others. "Don't leave by the stairs… it's poisoned. We'll be able to teleport you all to a safe place."

Wade couldn't concentrate enough to answer the valid remark. Fortunately, Kim was quick on her toes recover.

"Let's get to work," Kim said.

* * *

Josh and Ron circled each other warily. Ron still has his left arm pulled tight to his side, but now Jason was limping fairly heavily.

"You know," Ron said casually. "Your friends are fighting with their Zords against Goldar, Scorpina, and that weird blue monster. You're probably needed, and I'm in no condition to hurt anyone." His mocking tone made these words into a taunt rather than an offer.

"And Rita probably wants you to heal up and call your DragonZord," Josh added.

Ron laughed harshly. "She's told me about three times."

"So why aren't you going?" Josh said.

"Why aren't you?"

The two teens stared at each other, still circling. It was like an understanding crossed between them. It wasn't about saving or destroying the world right now. It wasn't even about obeying orders, and they knew they would ignore any orders that would prevent this. It was all about the fight right then.

Ron drew his sword. Josh drew his.

"Let's do this," Josh said, and he charged into the fight.

Author notes, Kim is all right, oh no, It look like it's Ron vs Josh battle about to come. Please review.


	14. Chapter 14 Red vs Green

Josh groaned and pulled himself out of the wreckage of what looked like some teacher's Chevy. The glass and metal rolled off him—he was protected by the shields in his costume that much—but he felt like one big bruise after the impact. "Okay, first…" he muttered, "Ron can throw pretty good one-handed."

He gasped as a flash of green came toward him. He rolled off the car onto his feet as Ron sliced the wreckage of the car in two with his sword. The car was definitely totaled

"Second," Josh said, "get this fight away from the parking lot." He dodged a kick and aimed a few hard punches at Ron as he was still off balance.

"Talking to yourself, Red?" said Ron. "Isn't that a sign of insanity?"

Josh forced a laugh as he tried to think of a way to move the fight. "Guess you'd know a lot about insanity lately. Only a maniac would work for a bitch like Rita."

On the whole, Josh thought as he felt himself thrown to the ground, that was probably not the best strategy. Ron was obviously clinging ever more fiercely to his connection with Rita. On the other hand, the rage made Ron's fighting sloppy. Josh easily dodged a flurry of attacks and buried his knee in Ron's gut. Ron sank to the ground, gasping. Josh backed off, folding his arms and waiting for Ron to recover.

Ron pulled himself shakily to his feet. He was laughing weakly. "You think you're winning, don't you?"

Josh shrugged. "Yeah, you've gotten in a few good hits, and I think I'll be feeling this fight for a week, but you're hurt. You got injured, and your endurance is fading fast, whereas I've barely broken a sweat. You don't really have any powers I can't deal with… so, yeah. Things are looking pretty grim for you."

Ron pulled out his Dragon Dagger. "That you're too stupid and too self-assured to be a serious fighter.".

Josh back off a step. "Dude, are you gonna call your _Zord_ on me? Not cool!"

It was the unspoken rule… that Rita never followed, of course. Ron wasn't a true Power Ranger… he could escalate a fight if he wanted to. That included his Zord… and right now Josh's own Zord was being controlled by the others as a part of the MegaZord. Essentially, Josh would have no choice but to run away from the fight and join the others… or end up as a greasy spot on the bottom of the DragonZord's foot.

Ron raised the Dragon Dagger and put it to his lips… but the Zord did not come. Instead, the ground between Josh and Ron exploded. Josh felt himself being thrown back by what seemed like physical waves of sound. A deafening _CRASH_resounded from behind Ron as the faculty parking lot exploded in glass—all the windshields and windows had shattered. Car alarms blew from at least five cars.

And still, Ron played. As the victorious-sounding song went on, explosions bombarded Josh wherever he went. The ground itself seemed to be on fire. Josh tried to move in closer to Ron, to knock the musical weapon away from him, but each wave of sound pushed him further back. Finally, one last blast blew him backwards through the glass doors of the school. He flew through the hallway. Fighting to keep conscious, Josh snagged a doorframe of a classroom, threw himself in, and was finally out of the path of Ron attack.

Josh sagged against the blackboard, gasping to catch his breath. Zordon had warned them the day before that the Green Power Coin and attendant weapons might have powers different from their own, just by the separation and different power influences the coin had come under, but this was _insane_.

"Oh, Red!" Ron's voice called from the hallway. "You don't want to play anymore?"

As quietly as he could, Josh pushed himself against the wall, keeping out of sight of the doorway. The school… the classroom… was too confined a space to have a fight, especially when Ron had the big Dragon Dagger attack. He didn't want to think about the damage Ron could wreak on the school. From the burned smell in the air, the school had already suffered enough damage.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Ron yelled in a sing-song voice.

He was getting closer to the classroom. Josh slowed his breathing down, hoping Ron wouldn't hear his breath echoing in his helmet. He thought desperately of a way to get Ron out of the school building, to find a nice, deserted place to continue their fight.

The footfalls faded, and Josh hazarded a peek out of the classroom door. Ron was walking down a corridor toward the science labs. Quickly and quietly, Josh left the classroom and went up a wide staircase out of Ron's view. He could easily cross the building and possibly lay an ambush for Ron, but he had to be far enough away from him to communicate with Zordon safely. He hoped communications were working again.

The school was completely empty. Signs of battles and general chaos were everywhere. Garbage cans were overturned. A few lockers hung open, and a few backpacks littered the hallway. It wasn't as bad as downstairs, for in this wing there were fewer classrooms. The whole place had a creepy vibe, like walking through a deserted building at midnight. Compound that with the fact that any moment Ron could jump out at him to renew the fight…

Josh ducked into the guidance counselor's office and shut the door behind him. He leaned against a file cabinet and slid down to the floor. He brought his wrist to his lips. "Zordon, do you read me?" he said quietly.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" The sound erupted from his communicator. "Josh, are you okay?"

Josh, in a panic, cupped his hand over his wrist. "Shh… _yes_. I'm fine. Alpha, I need your help in a plan…"

"Josh," Zordon's voice cut in, "are you sure you wish to continue in this plan? While civilians are no longer in danger, you are putting yourself and Ron in danger with this one-on-one fight. The plan never was for you to handle him alone."

Josh sighed. He didn't have time to justify his actions, but he owed it to Zordon to make the time. "Even if it wasn't the plan, we're stuck like this. Unless the Rangers can end the fight with the monsters quickly, which, I mean, they're against three…" Josh let the statement hang in the air, completely aware that by all rights he should abandon his fight with Ron to join the others in the MegaZord. "I can't just abandon Ron, no matter what he throws at me."

"Then what do you need?" said Zordon.

Josh smiled, glad that Zordon wasn't pushing the issue. "I need to get this fight away from the school. I can engage him in close battle, but I'm not sure if I can teleport both him and me away, and I don't trust myself to not, say, accidentally teleport us to the middle of the mall or something. I need Alpha to teleport us to some deserted place as soon as I can get in close enough."

"Will do, Josh," Alpha said. "But, ay-yi-yi, be _careful_."

"You know me," Josh said, and shut off communication.

His senses at their peak, Josh crept out of the office and crossed down the corridor. He guessed that Ron would continue past the science labs toward the gym—the gym, of course, being the best secondary location for their fight. He could easily cut through the computer lab, make his way around the cafeteria, and if all went well he could take Ron by surprise and keep him from launching any more devastating attacks.

Of course, he thought as he walked past the computer labs, it seemed weird that Ron had never used that particular attack before, even when threatened rather severely. It seemed the ideal attack against multiple opponents. Goldar and Scorpina's safety could have been an issue against using the attack, but Ron could have still used it before. So why hadn't he? Was it possible that the attack was a drain on his own power, significant enough to make the attack a desperate move?

It was a possibility… a hopeful one. But not a possibility that Josh could outright rely upon. He wasn't going to underestimate Ron again. Not if he wanted to save Ron life and preserve his own while doing it. Ron had so far been their worst enemy that day. He most likely engineered the attack of the school. He had stolen the generator and incapacitated Kim. It was all the more reason to save him—just to deprive Rita of such a valuable resource—but it also reminded everyone that Ron was dangerous. Even Josh was rethinking his plans to offer Ron a place on their team. Could he really work with someone who had done the things Ron had done, even if he was under evil influence?

"You will leave this school! Immediately!"

Josh had circled around the cafeteria and was in the corridor leading to the gym. At the end of the corridor, he could see the Green Ranger, his blade blaster raised. Across from him, his back toward Josh, Mr. Barken faced the evil Ranger, a baseball bat in his hands. The blade blaster was pointed directly at his chest, but Barken stayed where he was, radiating fury without a hint of fear. Josh respect for his principal tripled right then. He swore to himself he'd never laugh about the man's toupee again.

"Out of the way, old man!" Ron shouted, his voice muffled to be unrecognizable by the helmet.

"You will _leave_!" Mr. Barken said firmly, as if breaking up a minor scuffle in the hallway between classes. "You have terrorized my school and my students enough today. You have no place here!"

"I'm giving you a _chance_!" Upon closer inspection, Josh was shocked to see the hand holding the blade blaster was shaking, not enough to spoil the aim, but enough to show Ron first sign of humanity that day. Possibly he was just as affected as Josh by this sign of bravery. Possibly, the idea of killing another human being was too much for Ron, spell or no. Either way, the situation was still too dangerous for Mr. Barken. Josh had to get him out of there.

Josh ducked into a classroom and pulled his own blade blaster. Locking it into blaster mode, he took careful aim at Ron's hand and squeezed the trigger.

The blade blaster flew out of Ron's hand. Josh realized Ron had been holding his blaster with the injured arm; Ron fell to his knees and screamed in the pain as the impact made his arm fly back at the shoulder. Mr. Barken whirled around to see who had fired the shot. Running toward the pair, Josh amused himself with the idea of Mr. Barken trying to give him a detention for fighting in the hallway.

"Red Ranger…" gasped. "My students… are they…?"

"They're all fine," Josh said. "The school is deserted."

Josh crossed swords with Ron, the impact of metal on metal nearly forcing both of them back. They were fighting at the top of their strength, holding nothing back. At least, Josh prayed that Ron wasn't holding anything back. He didn't think he could take any more.

Ron unexpectedly angled his sword and sliced across Josh's bicep. A line of fire seemed to race Josh arm, but he had enough presence of mind to counter with a fierce jab to Ron's chest. The shield repelled the tip of the sword from cutting through, but the harsh impact made Ron back off.

The problem was, Josh reflected as they went in for another exchange, Ron sword was better for infighting. It was slender and slightly curved, single-bladed and lightweight. It was ideal for one-on-one combat, especially when the wielder wasn't a big ox like Goldar. Josh sword, on the other hand, was a weighty broadsword with very little sophistication. It was ideal for the usual monsters he had to fight—when the call of the day was just slice and dice—but on a complicated one-on-one fight the sword was too long, too heavy, and too unwieldy.

"You're slowing down," Ron said, a bit breathlessly.

Josh ducked under a sword swipe. "And you're getting tired," he countered.

The battle had gone on too long, by all rights. Josh had no idea what time it was, but by the sun it was past noon. The battle at the high school had started at mid-morning, so they'd been in constant battle for several hours. Josh knew—they both knew, as experienced fighters—that the next few minutes would decide everything.

Josh landed a solid kick to Ron chest, and Ron fell back several feet. Feeling like it was kind of a cheap move, Josh drew his blade blaster, locked it, and fired.

In an instant, Ron had drawn his dragon dagger and was playing again. Josh braced for the impact. Instead of the explosions, however, the music turned Ron shield as bright as a mirror. The shots bounced off his chest and hit Josh before he could even think to avoid them. He fell back and crouched. The shots _hurt_, but it was nothing like the wind attack from before. Ron's power was ebbing fast, especially as he used those fancy attacks.

"That the best you can do?" Josh said. "Geez Ron, you _are_running out of ideas."

"I thought it was pretty effective."

On the last syllable, Josh fired again. Ron had no time to set the shield back up, and the blast erupted across his chest, his golden shield marred by a black mark. To top it off, he landed awkwardly on his hurt arm. Josh could tell he was trying not to show pain.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that," Ron growled.

Josh barely had time to prepare. Ron had launched himself at Josh with a flurry of punches and kicks, only using the sword as a blunt instrument. Josh kept up with the attacks, but it had to be admitted that he was slowing down himself. He was knocked down to the ground, a bit dazed. Through the fog before his eyes, he saw a flashing sword being driven straight down. Instantly he flashed back to the fight with Goldar, and the panic gave him speed. He rolled out of the way. Ron, however, was prepared for that; he kicked Josh, sending him flying across the battlefield.

Ron crossed his dagger and sword. Lightning flew from the point of intersection straight at Josh. He didn't know what else to do. He ran, dodging lightning bolt after lightning bolt. His left leg had been hurt earlier in the fight, and now the effort of running over the rocks made it feel as if daggers were shooting through his ankle. He could feel the heat of the lightning's near misses. But it was still okay. As long as he could maneuver in close to Ron…

Josh's ankle exploded in shattering pain. He tripped, flipped through the air, and landed square on his back. Pulling himself up slowly, he saw the boot around his ankle had turned black. The lightning had cut completely through all his defenses, and blood was seeping from the wound.

He looked up at Ron, who was regarding him in triumph. Josh knew it was over. There was no way to even get up, much less dodge with any speed. Ron had him cold. He would not survive this next lightning blast.

"This is it, Red," Ron said softly. "It's been a hoot and a half, but we both knew it would end this way. And don't bet on cheating death _this_ time."

Josh felt his sword by his side, and he felt a glimmer of hope. It was his only chance…

Thankfully, Ron did not see the hope spring to Josh eyes. "Don't worry, Red. It will be quick, and you won't even have to watch your friends die." He took a breath, savoring his victory and Josh helpless silence. "All right… Josh. Prepare yourself."

The two weapons came together, and the lightning sprang forth with incredible slowness and clarity. Josh brought up his sword, which flashed in the sunlight, and pointed the flat of the blade to intersect the lightning perfectly. He felt the heat sear his hands, burning his gloves black.

As soon as the lightning hit the sword, it ricocheted back, hitting Ron square in the chest before he could move an inch. He fell backward instantly, de-morphing and hitting the ground hard, apparently lifeless.

Josh dragged himself slowly to the unconscious Ron, unbearable pain shooting up his leg with every step. Don't be dead… Please don't be dead… His breath came in ragged sobs, and the distance to Ron seemed to grow bigger with every step.

Finally, he collapsed next to Ron and felt for a pulse. It was there, slow but reassuring. Josh sobbed his relief, fought back a wave of nausea at the idea that he could have very well been dead, and nearly passed out himself. Spots swam in Josh vision, and looking back he saw a trail of blood—his own blood.

"That's far enough," the rage-filled voice of Goldar broke the silence.

Josh felt a sword tip at the back of his neck, and he froze. Breath came fast and panicky. He knew he was too weak to fight Goldar. He may have escaped death by Ron hands, but Goldar was about to finish him off anyway. It was fitting, in a way, but Josh could not come to terms with it. He merely shook as the fear choked him.

"Is he alive, human?" Scorpina's hard voice came from beside Goldar. From the sound of her voice, she had changed into her humanoid form.

Josh somehow found his voice as the sword blade increased in pressure. "Y-yes."

"That's lucky for you." Goldar's voice was low and dangerous, the voice straight from Josh nightmares. "That means you get to die quick."

Josh closed his eyes, too weak and hurt and afraid to protect himself.

"Josh! Duck!"

Josh pitched himself forward away from sword. Something whizzed by above him—an arrow?—and Goldar and Scorpina roared in pain.

"Power Axe!"

"Power Bow!"

Josh lifted his head as the familiar process played out before him. They _needed_ him. He couldn't just give up.

In a burst of energy he didn't know he still had, Josh pushed himself from the ground. The Rangers were near him, standing between him and the two warriors.

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Lance!"

In an effort that made his ankle burst in fresh pain, Josh bounded up to the assembled weapon in the air. "Power Sword!" He brought the weapon back down and tried to stay upright after the impact with the ground. The Rangers crowded around him and the weapon, helping to hold him up.

"FIRE!"

Beams shot from all points of the weapon and hit Goldar and Scorpina dead on. The area around them exploded in fire and sparks, and they were thrown back nearly half a mile.

"Let's get out of here!" Brick yelled, grabbing Josh as the Red Ranger's legs gave out under him. "Someone grab Ron!"

Wade crouched and put a hand on Ron's shoulder. And even as they teleported away, they saw Goldar and Scorpina running toward them, screaming for them to stop.

* * *

Josh collapsed against a console as soon as they landed in the Command Center. He absently noted he was no longer morphed, though the others were. "Get Ron to the quarantine chamber. Keep weapons on him until you get him behind the forcefield," he gasped.

Wade and Brick lifted Ron by the arms and legs, and Tara and Kim followed them, blade blasters trained on Ron. They had set up the quarantine chamber in the room Josh, Wade, and Brick had used as sleeping quarters.

"Where's Alpha?" he asked, barely lifting his head.

"Alpha V is preparing the quarantine chamber for our guest," Zordon said, his voice laced with worry. "Josh, you need to lie down."

Josh slumped to the floor, the world dissolving into a sort of blurry darkness. He could no longer hear properly, it seemed. He stayed there in a stupor for he had no idea how long.

Distantly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and the sharp stab of a needle. The world came rushing back to him, sound and color and light. The pain was gone, and he could stand, though he was still shaky. Tara helped steady him.

He laughed weakly. "That's the second time you've saved my life, Tara."

Tara hit him on the shoulder none too lightly. Her eyes were shiny with tears. "Then stop getting almost killed."

"It is getting to be a bad habit of yours," Wade said.

"And that goes for you, too," Tara said furiously, actually shaking a finger at Wade.

"Never mind that now," Josh said. He felt himself gaining strength with each minute, though even the serum couldn't cure his exhaustion. He felt like he could stay in bed for a week. "Everyone's safe and alive."

"Which is a freakin' miracle," Brick said under his breath with Josh chose not to respond. "What about Ron? What's his status?"

"He's safely within the containment field," said Wade. "We've placed his Power Coin and teleporter in a hiding place in the room, so he won't feel any adverse effects from separation from his Power Coin, but he also won't be able to morph or teleport. We have cameras monitoring him, and we'll hear an alert as soon as he wakes up."

Tara looked a little perturbed that her lecture had been dismissed so quickly. "I only gave him a half-dose of the serum. He'll hurt like hell, but his life is in no danger. I'm afraid to get him too healthy… afraid that he was going to wake up too soon."

They didn't say it, but Josh was sure the others thought along his lines: they didn't want Ron too healthy. They wanted him hurt and vulnerable. That would make it easier to break the spell.

And, Josh thought with not a little guilt as he look at at Kim, he didn't want all the pain from their recent fight gone yet. Ron had almost killed him, after all.

Alpha, in the meantime, was busy at one of the consoles. "Rangers, Goldar and Scorpina have now left Earth."

"There is nothing more you can do now, Rangers," Zordon said. "I congratulate you all on successful battle. You've all performed admirably under conditions far worse than any could have anticipated."

"So what about Ron?" said Kim, glancing nervously at the closed door across the room worryed.

Zordon seemed to sigh. "We must wait until he awakens. Simply separating him from Rita is already half the work. Now, we face the most difficult part of our plan. It is time for you all to rest, Rangers. I project that it will be a difficult few days."

"And that'll be different how?" Brick said.

"Zordon's right," said Kim. "After emergency curfew ends, we need to put in face time with our parents…"

"Oh, God, my mom's going to be frantic," Tara said. "I mean, I bet the attack on the school was all over the news."

"I don't like leaving Ron up here along with Zordon and Alpha." Brick was also staring nervously at the closed door. "I say we take it in shifts to stay up here. We don't know what Ron's capable of. I mean, what if Rita gave him weird-ass special powers along with that spell or whatever."

"It's possible, but not likely," Wade said.

"Yeah," said Tara. "Why would she give him a Power Coin if she could give him other powers?"

"Brick right," Josh said, and he smiled at the look of surprise on Brick face. He's obviously been expecting for Josh to disagree. "Ron dangerous, and we don't know what he's capable of, with or without any extra powers. I think we'll have more problems with his intelligence now, along with his devotion to Rita. Zordon, could you alert us when Ron wakes up? I think we're safe as long as he's asleep."

Sleep," Kim groaned. "That sounds good about now. Kim said as she look at her best friend across the room, he safe and away from Rita for good.


	15. Chapter 15 Final

"Rita's spell is broken," Bick said. Kim runs over to Ron. She touches his back.

"Ron, are you okay?" Josh beside her, helping her to get him up. Ron is confused as he look around the room

"What happened to me?"

"You're no longer under Rita's spell," Josh said, helping him to his feet. Ron regrettably recalls all of what happened and what he did while he was evil.

"Oh, man, my head is spinning."

"You'll be alright."

"What have I done?" Kim was holding his arm.

"That wasn't you. What you did, you did because you were under Rita's influence," Kim said. "We know it wasn't you, Ron." Ron looked down at her. They smiled at each other.

"I still feel so bad, what can I do to make it up to you, all of you?" He looked down at the rest, but his eyes finally fixed on Kim.

"You own the power now," Josh said. "Join us."

"After everything I have done!"

"Ron, we need you. Fight with us," Josh said.

"It's where you belong, " Kim said. Kim smiles and nods at him. Ron nodded.

"Will you join us, Ron?" Josh asked holding his hand smiles and takes Ron's hand. They shake hands.

**Josh**: We're back, and we're ready to morph into action!  
**Ron**: Six working together to fight evil!  
**Brick**: And stop Rita!  
**Wade**: And all her menacing monsters!  
**Tara**: From destroying our planet Earth!  
**Kim**: Look out Rita, we're not backing down! 'Cause we're the Power Ranger.

The six team member teleport out to fight Rita.

Soon, the Ranger pilots of the MegaZord found themselves right next to the DragonZord. "All right," Kim muttered, "let's see if Ron can keep up with some teamwork."

Josh launched the MegaZord into an attack, and the DragonZord almost magically followed the flow of herd and attack. While Scorpina and the monsters tried to keep up and gain the upper hand, the two powerful Zords set each other up for attack after attack. The DragonZord took most of the high-powered attacks, being fresher and allowing the MegaZord to regain some of its power.

"Mega Sword power to full!" Kim announced.

"Best news I've heard all day," Josh said. "Then… I call on the Mega Sword!" Fight the bad guys.

The Sword sliced through the clouds, and the MegaZord caught it deftly. Without hesitation, as Pop Star charged at them, the MegaZord sliced the monster clear through. Just as it happened two days before, the monster exploded in sparks and fire.

Scorpina suddenly realized she was alone, faced with two Zords.

"If you _think_," she growled, "that I'm afraid of…"

She and Goldar stopped, completely frozen and silent. She emitted a shocked cry and, with a twist, disappeared. Two Zords face a win.

Rita groan as she loss and her Green Ranger is no more.

* * *

Ron stood before Zordon, the other Rangers gathered around him. He felt distinctly uncomfortable. He wondered if he was ever not going to be forced into the center of attention. He looked over at Kim, who gave him an encouraging smile.

Ron Stoppable," Zordon began, arresting everyone's attention. "I realize you do not feel you belong here. Your alliance has been until recently forced to our enemies. And you originally received your Ranger appointment not from me, but from Empress Rita."

Ron held his breath, unsure of where this was all going.

"However," Zordon continued in a lighter tone, "I have found it to be one of the great truths of the universe that it matters not where you receive power, but how you use it. You have been denied choice in the use of your powers. When you finally had a choice in the use of your powers, you chose to use them to defend the Earth and help the other Rangers. I cannot emphasize enough that that choice is infinitely more important than the origin of your powers. It is the choice of a true Power Ranger.

"You have claimed your powers. In doing so, you have claimed a place among the Power Rangers. Now there is only one thing do to. You must pledge to follow certain rules. The first of these is to never use your powers for personal gain; only as a protector of Earth. The second is to never escalate a fight more than necessary. That, I'm afraid, includes fights for personal grudges."

More than one Ranger shifted uncomfortably at this statement.

"Finally," Zordon continued, "you must keep your identity a secret from everyone. I realize that your father already knows. That knowledge is necessary for your unique circumstances, though you will need to urge discretion to your father. Ron, do you agree to these rules?"

"Yes," Ron said in a strong voice. "I agree to all. I… still don't think I deserve to be here. But… I want to help, to try to make up for what I've done. "

He suddenly felt hands on his shoulders, and he realized the other Rangers had gathered around him. It felt nice. Scary as hell, but nice.

Kim walked around to face Ron and in pull him into a passion kiss, she let go. "Welcome to the team, Ron."


End file.
